What Doesn't Kill You
by G. G. Fernandez
Summary: Human AU Series. A look into the Doctor & Clara's lives with their not so normal family. Real life isn't the fairy-tale we all imagine as children and sometimes it can be dark but with a family's support, light can be found even in the dark. A family can overcome any problem, any issue, and use it to make them stronger. Together. [Check each chapter for individual summaries]
1. The Beginning of Forever

**A/N **\- Now extended from a single one-shot (The Beginning of Forever) into a series which focuses on the lives of Doctor John Smith, Clara Oswald and their not so normal family. Sorry for the sudden name change

* * *

_It's the Doctor &amp; Clara's Wedding Day and the pair couldn't be happier. However, with Clara about to become the daughter-in-law of the Doctor's highly critical stepmother, Leanne who hates absolutely everything about her, will they even make it through their vows without her kicking off and ruining their day?_

* * *

**The Beginning of Forever**

After all the years she had known him, after all the moments they had shared, both the good times and bad times, she still couldn't believe it was really happening. All her life she had dreamed of the moment they would become one, legally. Of course, they had been one for much longer, but still, this would make it all official.

She couldn't remember much about her life when she was a child. She couldn't remember many birthdays or family holidays. She had vague ideas from her father's stories but she didn't know for definite the exact details. However, she could remember him, always. She could still remember the day they met, the days when her make-believe games became _theirs_, and how none her days seemed complete unless he was there.

She still remembered the first time they kissed, not real to everyone around them, but real to them. It was a sign of their friendship, their affection for one another. Of course, at that point, it wasn't the sort of love any adult experienced, but it was love for them.

The first time, their _first kiss_, had been at her sixth birthday party. Obviously, everyone around them, all baring his stepmother, found it cute: two children trying to be all big and grown up, but for them it wasn't just a game. It was their way, their way of proving just how much they meant to one another. Six years old and already their futures were already developing.

Their first proper kiss, the one where they began to feel their body's reacting in a different, strange way, a way neither of them had felt before, was the night before his fourteenth birthday. They had both been curled up on her sofa watching something on the TV but had soon lost interest. She hadn't been feeling too well that day and he, being the gentleman he tried to be, had gone to her house in the hope to make her feel better, and he had. All it had taken was a simple glance and once their eyes had locked, their mouths seemed to act to their own accord. She could still remember the taste, and even though she had never kissed a boy before, she knew just from the way he made her feel that it had been right.

"Clara?" a voice whispered gently, pulling her back to reality in a matter of seconds.

Sat ridiculously still, staring blankly into the mirror positioned before her, Clara hadn't even noticed her father enter the room. Smartly dressed in one of his only two suits, the grey one rather than the black, he looked to her like the lonely old man he was, the one he tried very hard not to be in front of her.

Truth be told, he hadn't been the same since that fateful day eight years ago, the day her mother had died. Ever since that day, he had never been the person he had been. Then again, he was heartbroken. He still was. The day Ellie died, most of his heart died too.

"Hey Dad…" Clara whispered, trailing off to look back at her reflection.

She still wasn't happy with the so-called masterpiece her friend's work colleague had designed across her face. Apparently it made her look 'fantabulous', 'an absolute stunner', but she wasn't sure. She would much rather have gone with an au natural look, non-orange looking fake tan or deadly black mascara plastering her eyes and destroying everything both she and her fiancé loved about her.

Briefly looking up at her Dad's reflection in the mirror, she saw him grimace momentarily, only to quickly change his expression as soon as he noticed her look towards him. She had to give him credit where it was due, for a man of almost fifty, he had pretty quick reflexes.

"I look awful, don't I?" she asked weakly.

"No, no, no, no!" he was quick to insist, "No, absolutely not. You could never _not_ look gorgeous."

Clara rolled her eyes, looking back at her refection in as much disgust as she guessed her father shared. The woman looking back at them wasn't _her._

It didn't take her Dad long to notice her almost tearful expression. He hated it when she cried, or even nearly cried, but on that day of all days, the only tears she should have had should have been from happiness. After all, it was her wedding day!

"Clara…" he whispered, shaking his head softly, "What's wrong? Are you having second thought about today?"

Clara shot around on her stool faster than her father could even comprehend.

"No!" she exclaimed, "Good God, no!"

Dave breathed out a sigh of highly over exaggerated relief. "Well, thank God for that." he stated, "Especially because I'm paying for most of it…"

The smirk on his face usually would have been copied by his daughter at that point. However, the lack of did rather concern him so when she turned back around to the mirror, he didn't bother to hide his confusion.

"Alright, I'm lost." he confessed, "What's wrong?"

Clara sighed, gulping away what felt like a lump forming in her throat.

"Look… look at me, Dad." she sighed, "This isn't _me_… I-I look like a bloody Barbie doll for Christ sake!"

Dave sighed. "Then why did you say 'yes' to Megan after the trial last week?" he enquired, referring to the make-up trial she had had in preparation for her big day.

"Because last week it was fine." she explained, "But today she decided these improvements were needed to make me look _fantabulous_… I didn't even know 'til I saw it in the mirror after she'd gone! I look completely… _shit!_"

"Oi!" he warned.

Clara sighed, turning around to him and gripping his hand. "Dad, I'm not four years old anymore." she reminded him.

He smiled weakly, one side of his mouth forming the smile while the other remained still. Cupping her cheek and stroking it briefly, he shook his head.

"You'll always be my little girl." he guaranteed.

Clara stood up slowly and dove into his chest, grateful for the support when he enveloped his arms around her.

"Even when I have kids of my own?" she asked.

His usual response would have been a 'hold your horses' or 'one step at a time', something along those lines considering she was still pretty young at only 24 years old. However, that day seemed to be taking its toll on them both, and it hadn't even started yet.

"Even then." he promised.

Clara nodded into his chest before pulling away from him. She was about to say something else when the door to her room flung open, both her best friend and future sister-in-law entering. Both were chattering and laughing away with each other, getting along like a house on fire, but that suddenly changed when they saw the state of Clara's face, or more importantly, the make-up.

Rose, with her hair, make-up and dress all sorted, was carrying Clara's wedding dress, one she almost lost grip of as her mouth dropped open.

Clara smiled weakly, grateful for her tactfulness, however, looking over at Nina, she had a feeling she wasn't going to be as lucky when it came to her reaction.

"Fuck me!" she cried, "What did Meg do to you?!"

With just that simple statement voiced, Clara could feel her father's awkwardness suffocating her instantly. Nina, upon noticing his presence smiled briefly at him.

"Sorry, Mr O." she apologised before looking back at Clara, "But fuckin' hell!"

Rose sighed, quickly hanging Clara's dress up over the door to the en-suite. Without any begging on anyone's behalf, she turned to Clara's father and smiled.

"Dave, why don't you and I go downstairs and I'll make you a cuppa?" she suggested.

Dave nodded immediately. "Yeah." he agreed, "This is clearly 'ladies stuff'."

"Yep!" Nina concurred, beginning to talk with her hands, "Definite make-up emergency! There's no way I'm letting Clara walk down the aisle looking like this! I'll definitely be having words with Meg later!"

Clara sighed contently as Nina full on shoved her down onto the stool. Even though it hadn't been planned, she trusted Nina with anything and if she could even do anything half as better in that 'make-up emergency', she knew she would be in good hands.

* * *

The transformation had been incredible. The changes to her make-up had made an unbelievable difference and with her dress finally on, everything seemed to be coming together pretty nicely.

The dress itself was nothing special, but perfect in every way for her. A simple white fabric dotted with silver diamantes was all which graced her body, and it seemed to compliment her lean figure rather nicely if she did say so for herself. It was strange, she usually hated her appearance. Usually all she could think of was just how bad the photos would turn out; however, that day was different. That day, she was actually happy with herself and how she looked, and most of that was due to Nina.

"Thank-you." she whispered, refusing to look back at her until the threatening tears were suppressed.

"You do look… amazing." she complimented, "And you know me, I normally _never_ say nice things to you."

"Yeah." confirmed Clara, "But today's not a _normal_ day."

Nina nodded in agreement. "Yeah." she coincided.

Clara failed to notice her father and Rose enter the room a few moments later, both completely blown away by the sheer beauty of her. When Clara's eyes eventually met with her father's, she saw him begin to tear up.

"Dad." she soothed, crossing the floor over to him.

"Oh, look at you…" he whispered, "This is really happening… I'm losing you."

Clara shook her head adamantly. "You'll never lose me." she stated.

Dave sighed, once again stroking her cheek. "Oh, you look so much like your mother." he sighed, "She'd be so proud of you today."

Clara nodded, looking down from her Dad and to the ring sat on her middle finger, the one which allowed her to be close to Mum on not just that day but every day.

Nina, who was soon stood by her side, smiled softly.

"Something old." she whispered, making Clara smile as she looked up at her, "Where's your something new?"

"Oh… that's where I come in." Dave stated, reaching into his inner pocket.

Clara shook her head. "Dad, you didn't need to get me anything!" she cried.

"Hey! Its tradition." he smirked, "Who am I to argue with a time-honoured tradition?"

Clara raised her one eyebrow playfully. "Usually the first in line." she pointed out.

Rose sniggered, making the three of them turn to look over at her.

"Excuse me, have you met my husband?" she enquired.

Clara laughed at that. "True." she concurred.

"Anyway…" Dave began, making them return to their previous conversation, "These are for you."

"Wow!" Rose and Nina exclaimed in unison as Dave opened a black box to reveal a stunning white diamond necklace and earring set.

Clara felt her breath hitch as her eyes fell on the set. Saying it was beautiful was a massive understatement.

"Oh, Dad…" she whispered.

"You deserve it." he told her, "You and him, you deserve today."

Clara felt her smile grow. Even though she was desperate for the day to hurry up, she was still scared something would go wrong. She assumed most brides shared that fear, but the thing is that with her, that fear was warranted, mostly due to her fiancé's stepmother. Even when she had been a child, Leanne McCrimmon had hated her with a fierce passion.

As a teenager, that had made her relationship with her fiancé have an added bonus. Since Leanne made it quite clear how much she hated her, Clara had always enjoyed making her suffer for it. However, now she was regretting it. Nina had said that even Leanne wouldn't be cruel enough to ruin her wedding day, but she wasn't as sure.

* * *

"James!" he cried, running down to the car his older brother with perfectly spiked hair had literally just stepped out of.

"Whoa, Doctor… Slow down!" he exclaimed, "You're not late for own wedding, you know?"

Rolling his eyes, the Doctor couldn't stop the feeling building within his stomach. On his wedding day, the only thing he should need to worry about was his bride turning up, something he had no doubt about; however, he had one major problem which was physically making him feel sick.

"I can't see Leanne anyway." he disclosed.

James, usually the first one to tell his little brother not to worry and just calm down, shared his fear after that one particular statement. It was no lie that their stepmother had something against the Doctor's future wife and neither of them would have put it past her if she had planted TNT in Clara's bouquet or cyanide in her champagne.

Almost running his hand through his hair, James just managed to stop himself. After all the time he had spent that morning to make himself look good enough to be his brother's best man, he didn't plan to spoil it before the wedding even took place.

"Hey, don't worry about it." he began, "She's probably just held up in traffic. I mean, the traffic in town's a nightmare…"

The Doctor couldn't stop his eyes tightening after that audacious proposal.

"You don't really believe that." he pointed out.

James sighed, nodding slightly as he scratched the area directly behind his ear.

"Yeah, I guess you're right." he trailed off, "I'll do a quick check if ya want?"

"Promptly." pleaded the Doctor, "I don't want her spoiling today."

Watching his elder brother disappear into the growing crowd, the Doctor felt his heart beginning to hammer in his chest. He didn't really care about having a huge, fancy white wedding. Yes, he was looking forward to it, but he didn't _need _it. All he wanted was Clara.

The Doctor stood for a few moments, just watching some of the guests arrive. Many were work colleagues who he barely knew, a few were even some of Leanne's barmaids, people he didn't even know the names of. The only reason they had been invited had been because, in the long run, it was easier. Arguing with Leanne against something she wouldn't stop nagging about was always rather energy-consuming. Also, she always found a way to make all of the problems, such as _him _declining her suggestions, Clara's fault, and he hated that. She'd never done anything wrong but Leanne certainly had a grudge against her for some reason.

"Hey Doctor." one of the guest's greeted as she passed.

Snapping back to reality, the Doctor's face softened upon seeing a guest who he actually knew, and had personally invited.

"Martha!" he exclaimed, pulling her into a brief hug, "Oh, it's so good to see you!"

Martha had been one of James's college buddies, one who he soon met not long after and ended up getting on with from then on. He supposed he was lucky having James as a brother, not many people would be comfortable sharing friends with their little brother but he and James seemed to be an exception to that rule. He supposed the tragedy of losing their parents at such a young age brought them closer together, and then losing their older brother only a few years ago brought them even closer. They were all each other had left of their birth family, and it wasn't like either of them was really that close to Leanne.

Before Martha or her plus one, namely her husband, had the chance to say anything other than their greeting, all the Doctor heard was his older brother shouting his name. Turning around, a little startled by the change in tone, the Doctor frowned at his approaching brother.

"Oh, God… what's wrong?" he queried.

James, who was a little out of breath by the time he reached the trio, panted before managing to shake his head.

"I… can't find her." he managed to breathe out before bending down slightly, "God; I need to work out more."

Upon seeing the two others stood with the Doctor, James soon smiled.

"Oh, 'ello Martha!" he greeted, "And Mr Mickey McMickey!"

"Hey J." smiled Mickey, "Ain't seen ya 'round for a while. How ya been?"

While both Mickey and James began chatting away, slightly annoying the already panicking Doctor, Martha gently took his arm.

"Hey…" she soothed, "Don't stress over Leanne. Everything'll be fine."

He frowned slightly when he turned to look down at her. "How did you…?" he started to say.

Martha laughed gently, shaking her head and smiling weakly up at him.

"There's only one person who makes you stress _this_ much." she pointed out, "Just enjoy today, Doctor. Today's _your _day, yours and Clara, not hers."

The Doctor sighed. "Yeah…" he agreed, "I suppose you're right."

Weakly nodding, hoping to fill him with the confidence he was certainly lacking, Martha grabbed her nattering husband away from James.

"Catch up with ya later, mate." Mickey promised James, complying with his wife who was laughing to herself as they made their way into the church.

James, still aware of his brother's fear, gently patted him on the shoulder. He was just about to say something when one particular car pulled up, one containing the woman both were glad to see yet not sure whether they actually wanted to be there.

The first thing the pair saw once the door opened was a pale pink shoe hit the cobbled ground below. All the Doctor could even try and compare it to was something out of a film at the moment when the villain turned up. He supposed that actually wasn't far off.

James sighed, discretely patting his brother's back when their stepmother fully exited the vehicle, looking rather pale. She was either: ill – doubtful – or annoyed that the wedding was still doing ahead, the more probable reason.

"Good luck, little bro." whispered James.

The Doctor only had time to roll his eyes before his false smile had to surface. Just the look on Leanne's face was concerning him. Something was clearly wrong and he wasn't sure he wanted to know what.

"Hey Mum." James greeted, going over to her.

All he got in return was her roughly shoving her clutch bag into his stomach before she trotted over to the Doctor, fast enough to make his heart rate increase.

"Doctor, I beg you!" she cried, "Stop this while you still can!"

The Doctor felt his heart drop at those words and even though James was still recovering from the blow to his stomach, he could feel his brother's heavy heart. He knew that he would love both his stepmother and Clara to get along, but they all knew that would never happen.

"Leanne, don't." the Doctor pleaded, "Just let it go. I'm marrying Clara whether you like it or not."

Leanne sighed and shook her head, rubbing her temple dramatically, making James roll his eyes behind her. Could she be any more obvious that she was putting her _illness_ on?

"You used to be such a good boy…" Leanne whispered, acting as if he was about to do as awful as rob a bank, "You're really letting me down today, John."

The Doctor's face hardened at the sound of his real name. There were only certain people who he would let call him that, and she was not one of them, _never._

"No, I'm just not doing what _you _want!" he exclaimed quite harshly, enough to receive a gasp from Leanne but a small smirk from James, "There's a difference. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go and wait for my fiancée." he started to walk away but ended up stopping sharply and turning, "And it's Doctor to you, not _John_."

Leaving his dumbfounded stepmother abruptly behind, the Doctor began to head inside. It still hurt that after all the years that he'd known Clara, Leanne still couldn't be civil about her. It wasn't as if he made them be friends, he just wanted them to be able to be in the same room without fear of any drama between the pair.

Leanne sighed as the Doctor stormed off and even though James had thoroughly enjoyed watching his little brother stand up to her for once, he had to prepare himself for the rant he was about to receive.

"Why… why won't he listen to me?!" she cried, "Why doesn't he see the kind of cow she is?! I'm only looking out for him!"

"Mum, enough!" warned James, "Today of all days, just stop it."

Leanne sighed, once again rubbing her temple.

"So, she made you turn against me too?" she spat.

"No." replied James, "You're doing this to yourself."

Leanne gripped the back of her head and moaned in what James guessed was _pain._

"Oh, drop the bloody act, Mum!" he ordered, "I know just as well as you that you're not ill! You're just doing this because it's their wedding day."

Leanne shook her head slightly, her heavy blue eyes looking up at her eldest adoptive son in despair.

"She's poisoned you against me…" she trailed off, "First I lose Chris in Afghanistan, then you go and marry Rose, and now _she's_ stealing him from me. I hate her for it!"

James sniggered, unable to deal with her rubbish any longer.

"You've always hated her." he stated, "And I really don't understand why. I mean, you've got no problem with Rose… why's Clara so difference?"

"Don't even mention her name!" she demanded.

James began to laugh, completely blown away by that particular statement. After all, she was about to go into the said woman's wedding!

"Clara…" he smirked almost slyly as he drew her name out, "Clara, as in the same woman who will be your daughter-in-law later today."

Leanne's eyes tightened as he looked down at her. She'd always had the most respect for her son, but not when he acted like that.

"Stop it!" she shouted.

James shook his head and rolled his eyes. "You're pathetic." he told her, "If you hate them being together so much, what the hell are you even doing here… _at their wedding?!_"

"I'm trying to stop him making the biggest mistake of his life!" she argued.

James once again sniggered. "The only mistake he's ever made was waiting 'til now tie the knot with her." he quipped back, meaning every word he said, "They were both ready for this five years ago. The only reason they didn't is so he could make it through med school."

"And now look at him, he's a doctor! A proper doctor!" she exclaimed, "He could do so much better than her!"

James laughed slightly and nodded. "So could we." he sneered.

Leanne's mouth fell open as James left her alone. Many guests continued to pass, making their way into the church. Meanwhile, she just stood there. She couldn't believe what he had just implied. How could he even dare to suggest that any other stepmother would be better that her!

* * *

The Doctor's emotions were all over the place when he saw James guide Leanne to her seat. She was really playing the whole _illness_ charade but he was beyond caring, especially as the time he was waiting for was drawing closer.

He had to be honest, he was petrified Leanne was going to do something during the service but he could tell by her expression that James had had words without her, either that or she'd given up.

It wasn't long after the guests had settled that the brilliant vintage car arrived, the one they were all waiting for, the one containing the bride, her father and the three bridesmaids.

Once Clara, her father and one of the three bridesmaids had got out of it, the one person she hadn't expected to panic was frantically tugging and tweaking with her wedding gown. After how the day had begun, Nina – acting accordingly as her best friend and maid of honour – was desperate to make Clara look like the princess she deserved to be. After everything, she just wanted her friend's wedding day to be perfect.

Clara, on the other hand, was surprising herself at how calm she felt. She wasn't sure whether it was due to the adrenaline pumping through her veins or the fact that it hadn't completely sunk in as to why she was so tranquil. All she really knew was that her peaceful state wasn't being shared with her friend.

"Nina, please stop." she begged.

Nina respected her wished immediately but she couldn't stop the long drawn out sigh escaping her lips.

"Oh, Clara…" she whispered, "You enjoy today, girl!"

Clara laughed lightly and nodded softly, refusing to allow herself to cry so early in the day, especially since she knew Nina would probably murder her if she ruined her make-up _masterpiece _with her tears.

"I will." she confirmed, "I definitely will."

It was at that moment, with a little aid from Dave, that Rose exited the car along with her four-year old daughter. Both were dressed in deep royal-blue dresses, the exact same shade of blue as the paint on the Clara's nails. _Something blue._

Clara began to laugh quietly as the ecstatic four-year old continuously questioned her mother about the condition of her make-up, constantly repeating the question about whether it had smudged or not. It took a few promises from Rose but finally she got the message.

Clara loved children, especially little Jenny with the bright blonde hair which matched her mother's, and although she wasn't ready to become a mother herself, she actually couldn't wait for the day when she did. She supposed growing up as an only child had fuelled her desire to mother a larger family and being with the Doctor only deepened that desire.

Looking over to her friend stood beside her, the one contently watching the little girl with her mother, Clara would have been lying if she said that Nina's behaviour wasn't surprising her. Right from day one, Clara had always known that Nina would rather claw her own eyeballs out than have children of her own. She didn't mind babysitting as she could always hand them back to their parents at the end of the night but children of her own. The entire idea literally made her skin crawl.

"Right then, you." Rose smiled down at Jenny, "Come on."

Taking her mother's hand and letting her smile grow to an unbelievably big size, Jenny walked up to the Nina alongside her Mum. The three of them soon got into position and headed over to the door, waiting for their cue.

That gave Dave a few moments alone with his daughter, a few moments he was more than grateful for. Linking his arm with her and turning to look down at her, he smiled softly.

"Are you ready?" he asked, receiving only a nod in response, "You're absolutely sure?"

Clara nodded once again. "It was only ever him." she whispered, refusing to look up into his eyes. Instead she just looked toward the church door.

"I know." he admitted, gently rubbing her arm, "So did your Mum…"

At those words, Clara did turn to face him, feeling her threatening tears approach once more.

"W-What…?" she breathed out, a small frown indenting her perfect features.

Dave looked down momentarily, a soft smile brushing onto his lips before he eventually looked back up at her and allowed their eyes to lock.

"She always said it would be you and him." he confessed, "Never anyone else."

Clara felt her lip quiver as a sad smile began to surface while bittersweet memories began to flood her mind. All the times she and her Mum shared, and all the days that never were. There were billions and millions of unlived days for every day lived, an infinity, and for a single moment, she could see all of her Mum's playing like a home video in her head. Her Mum should have been there that day, sat patiently in the church waiting for her entrance, but then again, to Clara, she already was.

"But… I was sixteen." whispered Clara, "Sixteen when she died… How…? How could she have been so sure before then?"

Dave shook his head softly, his smile growing slightly.

"You were together then." he reminded her, "Besides; there's always been something about the two of you, and your Mum saw that."

Finding her right hand and gripping it tightly, Dave brought it up to his face. Kissing the ring which lay on his daughter's centre finger, the engagement ring which had belonged to his wife before she died, Dave sighed.

"She'll always be with you." he promised, gently rubbing the special ring with his thumb, "Especially today."

"Okay!" Rose shouted gently from the door, capturing the pair's attention, "Ready to go?"

Clara nodded at her, looking up at her Dad directly after.

"Yeah…" she whispered not really in response, "It's time to give me away, Dad…"

Dave nodded, futilely trying to stop a few stray tears which managed to break through the barrier he had attempted to put up in his eyes.

"You just promise you'll come back to me if he so much as steps a millimetre out of line." pleaded Dave.

Clara shook her head reassuringly. "He won't." she guaranteed.

"I know." he confirmed sadly, "But you just remember that I'll only be one phone call away."

Clara nodded in understanding, almost kicking herself when she felt herself disobey one of her internal rules. Crying was not allowed until _after _the ceremony ended!

Taking a deep breath as the choir began to play a tune from inside the church, Clara gripped her hand tightly around her Dad's arm.

"Don't let me fall, eh?" she tried to joke.

Dave nodded. "That's what I'm here for." he promised.

Clara could feel all eyes on her as she entered the church, and she hated it. Even in modern times, why did weddings have to be designed so all everyone saw was the bride walking down the aisle and nothing else? Granted, she figured James would be briefly watching his wife and little girl walk down the aisle, but she knew that at some time or another, he and everybody else would be watching her.

Trying to block her view from all the pairs of eyes glued to her, Clara lifted her head fully and looked towards the front of the church, her eyes soon falling onto the only man in the world who mattered to her: the Doctor, _her _Doctor.

Within a split second, nothing else seemed to matter in the slightest. Not all of the guests watching, not even the knowledge that Leanne was somewhere in the crowd, all she wanted was to reach him.

Parting from her father was probably the only thing Clara struggled with but seeing his gentle smile as they broke away from each other's side, she no longer feared. With the Doctor next to her, she didn't really care anymore.

"Dear family and friends," began the priest, "We are all gathered here today to witness and celebrate the union of John, _the Doctor, _and Clara in matrimony."

It was at that moment, just after smirking at the sound of hearing his real name said aloud, that the Doctor interlocked his hand with Clara's. He wasn't sure whether he was allowed to or not but he wasn't really bothered. After all, it was his wedding day.

"Today is the day that this happy couple with formally make their lifelong promises to one another and, although this ceremony will be a high point in their relationship, we must remember marriage is a journey. It's much more than just a single event, it's a way of life." continued the priest, "Now, I must ask before we continue, if there are any individuals who have any valid reason as for why these two cannot be wed today, may they speak up now and be heard…"

As the silence drew, the Doctor felt Clara's hand tightly grip his, her false nails digging harshly into his flesh. He was pretty sure that she too was worried about Leanne, especially as the priest had indirectly just given her an ideal opportunity to object.

It was at that moment that nearly all of the Doctor and Clara's close family and friends actually turned to look at the said woman, including Dave, James, Rose and Martha. If Leanne had been bothered by the silent insult, she didn't show it. Instead, her attention was more focused on her hand which was lightly rubbing the side of her face.

The Doctor and Clara were both silently praying for the dreaded silence to end and both were internally grateful to see the priest just about to speak and continue with the service. However, before any other left his mouth, both were a little shocked to hear a rather large thud echo from behind them.

Exactly like everybody else in the church, the pair turned to see exactly where the sound had originated from. The majority of the crowd gasped and fell silent while the Doctor and Clara's mouths just dropped.

James, unlike most of the other guests, just rolled his eyes. One moment, his stepmother who had been stood nearest the aisle had been standing up straight, the next she was sprawled out on the floor.

"Oh, for God sake!" he moaned, moving down his stepmother, "Mum, get up!"

The Doctor was in shock, especially since he couldn't tell from where he was whether she was genuinely collapsed or just faking it. To be fair, he was so shocked, he couldn't move straight away, similar to everybody else in the crowd.

"Mum." James moaned, feeling his anger rise, "Mum!"

The anger in his brother's voice made his stomach tighten but when Martha got to her side, he saw her concern grow by every passing second. He wanted to go and help but before he even dared to move, he turned to look at Clara.

"It's okay…" she promised in a whisper, and that was all he needed to hear.

Within a split second, the Doctor joined Martha at her side.

"Mrs McCrimmon?" Martha called, putting her professional head on, something she hadn't planned for that day, "Leanne, can you hear me?"

Meanwhile, the Doctor was beginning to shake her shoulders in order to check for a response. Nothing. So she wasn't responding to sound…

He quickly unclipped the clip holding his tie in place. Within seconds, he pressed the metal object against Leanne's fingernail, that time looking for a response to pain. Again nothing. _Damn…_

"Someone call an ambulance!" Martha shouted.

"I'll do it!" Mickey stated, immediately pulling his mobile phone out of his inner pocket.

"Oh, come on!" James cried, "This is just her way of trying to ruin your wedding day. She isn't ill!"

"James, she's not responding to pain." the Doctor genuinely looked worried but his brother only rolled his eyes. He still wasn't convinced.

The Doctor began to check his stepmother's airway just as Rose managed to make her way over to James and calm him down.

"Right…" the Doctor paused, beginning to put Leanne into the recovery position, "Help me get her onto her side."

Martha complied immediately while James looked down at his wife. Seeing his daughter then begin to get herself worked up, he swiftly bent down to pick her up. Of course, he knew she didn't understand what was happening. All she knew was that her Nanny had fallen over, wasn't waking up and her Uncle was worrying over her.

James smiled falsely down at Rose, gently cradling Jenny's head to make sure she didn't see any more.

"I'm going outside." he stated, not sure whether his was wound up or upset for his little brother. All he knew was that he didn't want to be in there.

He swiftly began to leave the church, soon followed by a parade of guests who thought it best to stay out of the way. By the time the ambulance turned up only a minute or so later, the only ones to remain inside with Leanne's passed out form were the Doctor, Clara, Rose, Dave and the priest.

When the paramedics arrived on scene, they began asking all the expected questions, not that Clara really noticed. All she could see was the shaking hands of her _almost _husband. She knew he and Leanne had never really been that close but whether they liked or not, she was his stepmother and at that time, he was afraid for her.

"Did she hit her head when she fell?" was one of the questioned fired in his general direction.

"No…" the Doctor trailed off, "But she's unresponsive to sound and pain."

Clara smiled softly as he once again put on his professional hat. At that moment in time, she was rather glad of that since she knew he'd start panicking if he didn't remain focused.

The paramedic nodded as he quickly examined her, doing exactly what had the Doctor had done to check for a response. Still nothing.

"Definitely unresponsive." he agreed, "We'll let a doctor check her over once we get her to the hospital."

"I already have." stated the Doctor, "Her airway's clear, breathing's fine and pulse rate seems normal. There's no obvious sign of concussion but I couldn't do a thorough examination without my kit."

The paramedic's eyebrow shot up. "You're a doctor?" he queried.

The Doctor nodded swiftly. "Dr. Smith." he introduced, "I'm a GP at Ealing Hospital."

"Of course, Dr. Smith." he smiled softly, "Actually Doctor, if you could come along in the ambulance to monitor her. You seem to have a full understanding of the situation…"

The Doctor immediately felt torn, the gulp forced down his throat a moment later only proved that point. It was his stepmother who was in need of his assistance at that moment, yet it was also his wedding… and he wanted to get married more than anything.

Looking back towards Clara, she sighed and smiled softly when she saw the torment of the decision dancing behind his eyes. Why was he finding it so hard? Leanne needed him more than she did. The choice was obvious. They could always get married another time.

"It's alright." she promised in a whisper, "Go… Be a doctor."

The Doctor smiled weakly, ignoring the paramedic shouting for him to hurry up as they rushed Leanne out of the building.

"I love you." he shared, stealing a quick kiss from her lips before pulling away, "I'm sorry."

Clara had learned from a very young age that putting on a brave face was never easy but unlike most people, she had learnt to master that skill quite quickly. After her mother died, it seemed to come to her like a second nature. She had always been strong in front of others. It was only ever behind closed doors that she allowed herself to cry.

Watching the Doctor run after the paramedics that day was another one of those times. To all the others in the church with her, she was the understanding fiancée. To her Dad, she was putting on a brave face. Inside, she was sobbing. So much for her wedding day.

* * *

Despite the fact the Doctor had been an actual doctor for just over a year, he'd never actually been inside an ambulance before, not a rapid response one at any rate. He had never experienced the feel of it as wove throughout the congested traffic, some bothering to give way while others didn't.

Watching the pale woman slowly stir in front of him, he felt his heart begin to pound harder. Gripping her hand tightly, completely oblivious to the fact the paramedic next to him was smiling softly, the Doctor sighed rather loudly.

"Mum?" he asked.

Receiving a very weak but definite giggle, one which he had seen many times before after patients wake after being under a general anaesthetic, he couldn't help but let out a massive sigh, out of relief more than anything.

"Oh, Mum…" he laughed.

When she fully opened her eyes, Leanne smiled over at her youngest stepson.

"Oh, you're such a good boy." she whispered, laughing to herself at a joke he didn't quite understand.

He frowned a little, slightly concerned at how quickly she seemed to have woken up. After all, she _had _been unresponsive.

Glancing at the paramedic, he could tell that he too was now beginning to grow skeptical. Unresponsive patients didn't just wake up like someone did from an afternoon nap.

"What are you on about?" the Doctor queried, a lump in his throat beginning to form.

"You didn't marry her." Leanne smiled, "You helped me instead."

The Doctor rolled his eyes. That seemed more like the Leanne he knew, not the _ill _Leanne who had arrived at the church earlier.

"Seriously?!" he cried with a hint of frustration, "That's all you care about?!"

Leanne pouted at those words, gently caressing her temple with her hand as she look away.

"Don't shout at me." she begged, "I am ill, after all"

The Doctor pulled away after that. The pain in his chest from his heavy heart was rising by the second and lump grew. James had been right… _She wasn't ill at all._

He couldn't prove it yet but he just knew, and he knew the test results at the hospital would prove it. The way she was smiling to herself, he just _knew _it had all been a charade. She had faked the whole thing just to stop his wedding and what killed him the most was that he fell for it. Hook, line and sinker. He'd abandoned his fiancée for a liar.

They reached Ealing Hospital and Leanne was examined by the doctor on duty. His look alone gave him the answers he already knew. When the official results came through, the Doctor was the one who saw them first. He hadn't wanted to stay, not at all. However, if something _had _have been wrong, he would have kicked himself.

Looking down at her charts given to him by a young nurse, a young nurse who seemed to feel his anger radiating off him after reading them, the Doctor roughly rubbed his forehead. Glaring through the glass window which separated him from her, he honestly wanted to get as far away from her as possible. Everything had been a lie. She wasn't ill, just a very good actress.

"Would you like me to talk to her?" the Nurse offered.

The Doctor, who refused to look down at the nurse in fear of taking his risen anger out on her, just shook his head.

"No." he answered coldly, "This one is all mine… unfortunately."

The Nurse, getting slightly afraid of the doctor stood before her, just nodded. She hadn't known the man long but they had worked together occasionally, and she could safely say that she'd never seen him quite as livid as he was at that point. It was almost as if a storm was brewing in the room, originating from a heart which must have imploded a long time ago.

Looking briefly between the woman and the doctor, the Nurse bit into her inner lip. Talk about an Oncoming Storm.

Clenching his fists around the metal handle of the door, the charts hooked under his free arm, the Doctor slowly opened the door. The smile which grew on his stepmother's face after spotting him increased dramatically but soon cooled as he came to a stop at the foot of her bed.

Looking down at her charts, the Doctor shook his head.

"Well, I've got your results back." he reported coldly, "Matter of fact, they're quite bizarre for a patient who had been unresponsive."

He was glad she remained silent as he was an inch away from snapping. "Your blood pressure's _normal._ Blood sugar's _normal._ There's no sign of concussion. In fact, I can find absolutely _nothing_ wrong with you… except the fact you're a complete, _and utter,_ cow! No actually you're not because that would be an offence to cows!"

"Doctor…" Leanne trailed off.

He shook his head, refusing to let any tears show her just how much he was hurting. He chucked her chart down onto the bed, not caring that it caught the side of her foot.

"How could you?!" he screamed through his gritted teeth, "_You faked this…_ to destroy my wedding!"

Leanne's heart dropped. "John…" she tried to start.

"No!" the Doctor shot back, "_No!_"

He could have kicked himself when his voice betrayed him but he couldn't help it. He knew that Leanne had a problem with Clara, but he honestly thought she'd get over to. Clara made him happier than he had ever been, why couldn't she see that?

Leanne tried to reason. "I was trying to help." she attempted to explain.

"Help?!" he screamed, cutting her abruptly up, "You… You just wanted what _you _wanted! You don't even care what _I_ want!"

"That's unfair." stated Leanne.

"You made me leave my own wedding!" he shouted, "_My own bride!_"

Leanne shook her head, desperately hoping he would see her point of view.

"You can do so much better than her…" she trailed off, "Why can't you see that?"

"Why can't you see that I'm happy with her!?" he asked, a little broken.

"Because you can do better!" she repeated.

The Doctor tried to block out her words, allowing a moment of silence to fall over the pair as he closed his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he processed to open them and look back over at Leanne.

"What you did today," he began, "It's a criminal offence."

Leanne sniggered and rolled her eyes. "Oh, don't be ridiculous!" she spat.

"Oh, really?" interjected the Doctor, "Making a hoax 999 call and wasting the emergency services; time is illegal."

"Stop being so dramatic, John!" Leanne exclaimed.

"Stop calling me that!" he ordered.

"It's your name!" she argued.

"Not to you." he explained matter-of-factly, "_Never _to you!"

Before he allowed himself to hear any more lie leave from her mouth, the Doctor turned to the door. Honestly, he wasn't in the mood to hear anymore…

"Where are you goin'?!" she quizzed, "Doctor!"

Turning slowly on his heels, his eyes almost as tight as he clenched fists, the Doctor looked over at his stepmother, the one he deeply loathed at that moment.

"I'm going back to the church." he answered, "And praying that Clara forgives me for today… and James, because he was right! He knew all along."

And with that, he just left. He didn't bother explained to any of the staff working, he didn't bother signing out at A&amp;E reception, he didn't bother to even discharge a Mrs. L. McCrimmon; he just left.

* * *

Clara was sat outside the church on the small rotting wooden bench undercover of a large oak tree, well; at least she thought it was oak. Many of the guests had left, or were currently leaving, but she just watched in a daze.

By the time her Dad came over to her, the typical British weather had kicked, allowing drizzling raindrops to plaster her skin in a rather slow manner. Dave could see her shivering even from a distance and made no hesitation when removing jacket and placing it around her shoulders.

"Clara, please come with me…" he begged, "Let me take you home."

She shook her head automatically, refusing to move even when he almost pulled her up.

"I'm not going anywhere until I hear from the Doctor." she told him adamantly.

"Then at least come inside." he pleaded, "Its freezing out here."

Clara sighed before looking up at her father towering over her, slowly shaking her head.

"I don't want to." she explained softly, "I don't want… people's _sympathy or_ their _understanding. _I just wanna stay here until I know what's happening with the Doctor."

Dave felt his stomach twist. He hated seeing her so upset and down in herself, especially when all he should have seen that day was her glorious smile.

Clara once again looked briefly up at her Dad. The expression on his face made her heart twist into something she couldn't quite describe but she was adamant, she didn't want to go inside.

"Who's still in there?" she asked after a few seconds of silence between the pair, the only sounds to be heard were the cars driving out of the church grounds and the rain lightly beating the surroundings.

"James, Rose, Jenny, Nina, Martha and Mickey." he reported, "Look, I'm sure they won't say anything you don't want them to sweetheart… Please come inside."

"Dad…" she started to object.

"Please." he begged.

Receiving a long, drawn-out sigh in response, Dave couldn't help but smile slightly when, with his assistance, Clara pulled herself to her feet.

"Fine." she gave in, "And 'ere, have ya jacket back."

Laughing softly as she removed the jacket, Dave accepted the item and was about to lead her inside. However, a loud car door slam and chorus of rapid, running footsteps caught their attention first.

"Clara!" the Doctor called.

Feeling her heavy heart lift a little, Clara almost broke out into a little run. A second later according to Dave's watch, both were in each other's arms, both deeply relieved to finally be where each other belong.

"Oh, Clara, I am so sorry." he apologised, "I am so, so sorry, darling."

The way his hand gripped around the back of her head, the way she fit comfortably into his embrace, Clara could no longer suppress her tears which had built over the past few hours. She just needed him, and finally, she had him.

Upon hearing his voice, all those inside the church exited. Rose, with Jenny on her hip and sleeping against her shoulder, remained under the cover of the church building but still managed to get the Doctor's attention.

"Is she okay?" Rose asked.

The Doctor, who was still holding Clara tightly, released his grip in order to look at his sister-in-law. Biting his lip, he then proceeded to look at his brother, the one stood causally behind his wife. The Doctor could see that he was hoping his suspicions were wrong but by the way he was looking at him, he knew. He knew he _had_ been right.

"I'll allow you to say 'I told you so'." he stated, "Just this once."

All of the group's heads dropped, realising exactly what he meant by that.

"Oh, that bitch!" Nina cried.

"Why the hell did you take so long then?!" Dave snapped, feeling anger more on his daughter's behalf than his own.

"Dad…" Clara whispered, her voice cracking, "It's not his fault."

She knew that everything that had happened that day, indirectly, had been because of Leanne's problem with her, and the knowledge of that actually stabbed at her heart.

"Hey…" the Doctor soothed, gripping both sides of her face to make their eyes meet, "It's not your fault either! This is in no way your fault."

She tried to speak, but the words just came out as a broken sigh. With tears building at an alarmingly quick pace, the Doctor gripped tighter, rubbing her cheeks with his thumb.

"No, Clara…" he whispered, "It's not your fault. If anyone, it's mine. I should have seen through her like James did."

Dave shook his head, seeing the pain in both their eyes. He couldn't deny he was angry, but he had to be honest with himself. It wasn't at the Doctor, it was at Leanne, and he couldn't take it out on him.

"It's not _either _of your faults!" he exclaimed, "Now come on, let's get out of the rain."

Both nodding and smiling softly at Dave, the Doctor and Clara joined the others under the cover of the building.

"So, what's happens now?" asked the Doctor.

Knowing the day was near enough over, Clara sighed. "Can… can we book another date?" she asked.

Although her question hadn't been officially directed at him, the priest who had been stood near to the group, smiled softly.

"Of course." he stated, "All of you, please come inside."

The priest disappeared for a moment while they all entered the building. The group, all barring the Doctor and Clara, sat down at the back of the church. When the priest returned a few moments later with a rather large, old black diary, Clara and the Doctor joined him near the front of the church, the spot they'd been standing in just before Leanne _collapsed. _Flicking through the diary, the priest skimmed through all the scrawled notes doted over the pages.

"Right, still a weekend if possible?" he enquired.

"Yeah." replied Clara, "We both work… although, the next two week's we'll be free. It's not like we're goin' on our honeymoon anymore."

"Um, yes we are." objected the Doctor.

Clara's brow was burrowed when she turned to look up and face him.

"But… it's just a holiday now." she pointed out.

"And we're still going on it." confirmed the Doctor while the priest continued flicking through the diary, "Its paid for with hard-earned money, and after today, I think we deserve it. You definitely do."

Clara smiled softly in agreement and nodded. "You're sure?" she queried in a whispered.

The Doctor nodded softly, gripping her hand tighter.

"Well," the priest piped up, "I'm afraid it'll have to be in six or seven weeks' time. I'm fully booked on both Saturday's and Sunday's 'til then."

"Six weeks?" Clara sighed, a little downhearted.

"I'm afraid so." answered the priest.

Clara looked up at the Doctor and sighed. She'd have to wait another long six weeks before she'd be able to call him her husband.

"Although… there is another option." the priest slowly, easily capturing the Doctor and Clara's attention, "There's an old church law which states I can only marry two people during the hours of daylight and by my reckoning, there's about an hour of daylight left…"

Understanding his suggestion, both the Doctor and Clara began to smile.

"And um," the priest continued, scratching behind his ear as he stuttered through his sentence, "I'm free!" he clapped his hands together, "And it looks as though they are enough people here to act as witnesses."

In sync with one another, both smiling broadly, the Doctor and Clara turned to look over at the group sat at the back of the church. They all were talking quietly between one another but soon stopped and noticed the pair looking at them.

When Clara turned back to the Doctor with a wide grin, they both knew exactly what it was they wanted. Perhaps the day wasn't going to be as bad as she thought…

* * *

The laughter which echoed throughout the room made Clara's heart swell. After everything that had happened that day, she certainly hadn't expected to be sat next to her _husband _at their wedding reception, listening to James deliver one of the strangest yet memorable best man speeches she had ever heard.

Glancing over the crowd, Clara really had to give it to Rose and Nina. They had certainly pulled off the impossible by getting all the guests to turn up at the reception that had previously been cancelled. It was only fair since they had all ended up missing the actual wedding ceremony.

"And so, I suppose I have to give it to him." continued James, "He may be the dorkiest little brother ever but, after everything our family have been though over the years, _and today_, I'm glad he's finally with the woman he was always destined to be with."

Looking down at the pair, a genuine smile gracing his lips, James picked up his champagne. It wasn't really a conscious decision; it just gave his hands something to do as his heartbeat increased. After all, what he was about to say was certainly something that was going to come from the heart.

"As a child, I remember Chris telling us about our parents… about how they weren't coming home." James began, capturing the Doctor's full attention.

James had always been very clear about their private lives, only those close to them had the right to know anything more than the surface. Therefore, the fact that he was willing to share anything more in front of such a large crowd, had certainly intrigued him.

"The Doctor didn't cry, not once…" revealed James, looking adoringly down at his little brother and then over to his new wife, "Not until Clara made him comfortable enough to let his walls down. She's always been there for him, always been there when he needed her. I mean, when Chris died, she was the one he turned to, and he'll probably kill me for saying this but, I think that out there _somewhere, _the universe makes bargains for people who deserve it. And these two do. These two deserve it. These two deserved to find each other so they can be happy together for the rest of their lives."

A general hum of agreement swept the room like a song and when that died down, James reached into his back pocket.

"Now," he began, revealing a small black box and slowly opening it, "Clara will probably kill me for this but I really don't care because, as we all know, if she doesn't learn to deal with her husband's _ridiculous _fascination with bowties, this relationship is doomed!"

Similar to the hum a few moments beforehand, a chorus of laughter flooded over the guests while the Doctor let his head drop in order to cover his reddening cheeks.

Smirking, James pulled out a small white piece of fabric from the box, namely a choker with a small white bowtie on. Clara pressed her hand to her forehead as her laughter turned her cheeks red, similar to the shade the Doctor was trying to hide through laughing. Only James would think of something like that.

Walking behind his brother and over to his new wife, James smirked as he tied the custom made choker around her neck. Clara soon found her Dad in the crowd smiled, the grin on his face filling her entire heart with joy. For such a lonely old man, at least she had the pleasure of seeing him smile every now and then.

"Now, now…" James continued, making the rest of the guests quieten down before returning to his vacant spot and looking down at Clara, "Just remember these words Clara. Three little words which you'll probably hear on a daily basis for the rest of your life with my dorky little brother…"

Now, Clara expected most of the guests to be thinking of the words 'I love you'. To be honest, if it had been anybody else, she'd probably think that too. However, James was talking about the Doctor, _her _Doctor, _her husband, _and if she knew James correctly and knew his sense of humour, she knew that those three words weren't going to be them.

Smirking when he looked over at the Doctor, James raised his glass.

"Bowties. Are. Cool." he drew the sentence out before turning back to look over the giggling and applauding crowd, the one he proceeded to address, "To the bride and groom: The Doctor and Clara."

"_The Doctor and Clara."_

The reception ended up being rather good, and although Clara had enjoyed herself, saying she didn't feel slightly relieved when the guests began to leave would have been a lie. After all, most of her night she had been going around and talking to people at every table, whether she knew them well or not.

As the night drew to a close, Rose, Martha and Nina began to clear the mostly eaten buffet away, shoving all the rubbish into black bin liners along with some of the hotel staff whose job it was to actually do that. Jenny had long fallen asleep in her pushchair, wrapped up in her father's old blue blanket and Dave was chatting with the DJ, leaving Clara and the Doctor to finally reunite with one another.

Stealing a chaste kiss from each other, Clara giggled as he set his hands on her lower back.

"Today's been amazing." she smiled.

The Doctor raised his eyebrow and smiled softly. "Do you really mean that?" he questioned.

"Course I do!" confirmed Clara, "And I can't wait to just… get outta here."

The Doctor smirked, once again stealing another kiss from her lips. To be fair, if James and Mickey hadn't approached them, he probably would have gone further.

"Sorry." apologised James, "But um… we-we want you to have this."

Opening his hand up, the Doctor couldn't help but frown slightly as his brother deposited a key into it.

"What's this?" he enquired, "We've already got our room key."

James sighed. "Um… Me and Mickey went into your room earlier." he explained, "You know, put sand in the bed, fake snakes, that sort of thing…"

"As a laugh." added Mickey, "But… after the day you've both had, we don't want you to have to deal with that so we booked you another room."

Clara smiled softly at their kindness. Her Dad had warned her that it was likely some of her husband's friends would probably pull some sort of prank that night so she'd prepared herself for it but for them to actually change it because of the bittersweet essence of their day, she was deeply touched.

Closing his palm around the key, the Doctor just smiled over at his brother and friend.

"Thank-you." he expressed, "For everything."

James nodded. "You two have a good night." he wished, and that was something the pair of them proceeded to do.

The Doctor had never had a fantastic life; he'd dealt with a lot of hardships while growing up. From a very early age, he'd learn how to deal with death and depression, at some low times believing that it would be easier just to die and get it over with. However, Clara had taught him different, and that night she proved it because the way they melted together with each other made him realise just how much he had to live for. He had the rest of his life and that all started from that day: the beginning of their forever.


	2. Two Little Lines

_The newly married Clara Smith was never scared, not when teaching a bunch of 4 to 5 year olds, __not even when she was facing her husband's vile stepmother, so why was one tiny little __object scaring her so much? Why did she need the support of her friend just to help her face this, to remind her it was something she had always wanted? Would all her worries finally be __alleviated by telling her unsuspecting husband? She really didn't know_…

* * *

**Two Little Lines**

Two objects sat before her on the kitchen table, one was her mobile phone and the other was something she wished didn't exist. It wasn't anything simple, not a bill or letter from the council about the changes in bin collections times, no, nothing so pleasant. Actually, that one particular object, so small yet so significant, was something which had the ability to change her entire life in a heartbeat, and she wasn't sure she was ready for that.

Looking up from the table and out of the window opposite her, the one overlooking the garden of her new house, _the awfully quiet house,_ Clara didn't really register the birds which kept landing on the washing line, only to fly away then return seconds later.

They had only moved to the new house a month earlier, and only five weeks beforehand had the Doctor begun his new job at the Royal London Hospital. She had been so proud of him when he had received the letter accepting his application as one the hospital's General Surgeons. At only 26 years of age, literally only finishing his course to become a qualified Surgeon a few months before receiving the acceptance letter, he was already working in a good position in a well established hospital.

Allowing her already pounding head the opportunity to fall into her hands, Clara could feel her thoughts racing at a billion miles an hour, if that was even possible. The day had barely begun but she already wanted it to end. She just wanted to go up to bed and wake up to find out that it was just a dream. She didn't want _this_ to happen… not yet.

A few times she reached for her mobile, only to shove it further away every time. She wanted to call the Doctor, she needed to speak to her husband, to hear his voice, but she couldn't. He was working and even though it was only ten o'clock in the morning, she knew he would have been heading down to theatre if he hadn't done so already. She knew he had a full list that day and unfortunately for her, he wasn't due to finish until at least four o'clock that afternoon, providing everything went to plan. God she hoped it went to plan.

Sighed deeply and roughly reaching for her phone, she was caught a little off guard when her elbow hit the wooden surface. Gasping as the horrible tingly sensation which shot up her arm, she almost screamed with frustration. It was a good thing she wasn't working that day, the poor children would have probably thought their usual, smiley teacher had been possessed by an angry monster.

Feeling anger, not really directed at anything, build up inside her, Clara grabbed her phone and shot up from the chair. The door to the living room which had been directly behind her was lucky to be open. If it hadn't, it was more than probable that she would have shoved it off its hinges. Although, in her stampede to the living room, she had failed to notice a pair of the Doctor's shoes lying pretty much in the entire doorway… that was until she tripped over them.

Finally snapping and screaming, her frustration taking over, Clara ended up taking it all out on the pair of shoes. She had no idea where they ended up after her moment of kicking them around like they were rag-dolls but by the time she managed to calm herself down, she just felt completely stupid.

Rubbing her free hand across her entire face, picking up her tears as it did so, she breathed out rather roughly and flopped down on the sofa. Taking a moment, she just stared blankly at the wall, not even daring to look towards the kitchen door to her right. It was almost as if it was forbidden, her mind not wanting to remember what she had just abandoned inside it.

Finally pulling herself back to the mobile waiting patiently in the hand in her lap, Clara slowly raised it and unlocked the device. Scrolling through her contact list, she physically had to stop her hand, which seemed to have a mind of its own, calling the Doctor. Instead, she turned to the next best person who only lived a few minutes drive away.

Clicking on the name and sticking the phone to her ear, Clara waited for the dialing tone to end and ringing to begin. She barely even realised she was biting her other thumb until the sharpness of her teeth was detected by her brain.

Waiting for the ringing to end seemed to take forever, despite the fact it was only three or four rings at most.

"_What?"_ the recipient asked thickly, clearly just been woken up by her phone going off.

"Nina?" Clara whispered, biting her lip and deeply wishing her friend was actually with her.

"_Clara…?"_ Nina queried tiredly, _"Why… why aren't you at work?"_

Clara sighed down the phone. "Called in sick this mornin'." she responded.

Despite the fact she couldn't even see her, Clara was sure Nina was raising her eyebrow.

"_You don't sound that sick to me…"_ she pointed out, _"And couldn't you have waited until a decent hour to call?"_

Clara peered up at the clock above the kitchen doorway, despite the fact she already had a pretty decent idea of the time.

"It's ten o'clock." she explained to her friend.

"_And that is not a decent hour for me."_ Nina reminded her.

As a silence drew between the pair, Clara unsure what to say next, she noticed to change as Nina became fully alert in the quickest of moments.

"_Right, what's wrong?"_ she enquired, her voice slightly concerned.

Clara shook her head against the phone. "I…" she trailed off, "Are you working today?"

Clara could almost feel the frown directed in her general direction.

"_Alright, you're scaring me now."_ she confessed, _"And not 'til later this afternoon… Why?"_

Clara sighed and nodded a little. "Would… would you mind popping over?" she questioned, "I mean, I… I could really do with a little company right 'bout now."

"_Five minutes."_ Nina promised, abruptly ending the call.

* * *

True to her word, not _literally_ five minutes after the call ended, but soon enough, Clara's doorbell rang. Upon opening the door, she was greeted by the sight of her friend who was looking rather rough. Not surprising since she hadn't been up long. Clara would even have guessed that she hadn't even showered or anything that morning. She probably only just threw a selection of clothes on.

With her hair not brushed and only shoved up in a scraggy ponytail, she honestly did look like she'd just been dragged backwards through a bush. However, apart from the Doctor, she was the best sight Clara could have asked for.

Stepping through the door, Nina's already uncertain expression intensified as she closed the door behind her and followed Clara into the living room. It was unlike Clara not to smile or greet her when she arrived and considering her usual strong, positive self seemed to have been replaced by a nervous wreck, saying she was worried was the biggest understatement of the year.

"You look like…" Nina tried to reason, "Absolute shit."

Clara was used to Nina firing rather blunt statements in her direction. Usually that particular statement wouldn't have affected her in any way, shape or form but that day just wasn't a _usual_ day.

With her thumb firmly held between her teeth and her emotions shooting all over the place, Clara couldn't stop herself from snapping then, releasing all of her anger, frustration and fear in the form of violent tears.

Nina's eyes widened instantly and upon instinct, she found herself pulling her friend into her arms, something she had never actually done before. She had always been one of those people who found any form of hugging extremely awkward, whether it was a friend or a lover. However, for that one day, in that one moment, she didn't mind in the slightest and by the way Clara clung onto her, it seemed as though she needed it too.

Despite the fact the hug seemed to be going well, Nina had absolutely no idea how to proceed. There was a reason people didn't see her as the caring type: she wasn't. She really had no clue what to do next. How exactly do you comfort someone who's crying? Do you shush them? Rub the back of their heads until they've calmed down? Serious, Nina Lux was definitely the most unlikeliest person to know.

It was actually Clara who eventually pulled away first, much to Nina's relief.

"I'm sorry…" she apologised, actually feeling quite embarrassed of being so weak in front of her friend. The only bonus was that she had known Nina for years so she knew she'd be fine with it.

"It's… okay." Nina reassured her, hoping she wasn't coming across in any way insensitive. Being comforting was most definitely not one of her strong points, a little concerning since she was a trained and qualified counsellor. Clara had always found that funny. Nina could listen to people easily yet when it came to comforting people, she was the complete opposite.

Clara laughed lightly, feeling very touched at her friend's attempts to help her feel better. The fact she was trying was amazing in itself, especially as with anyone else, she'd just tell them to get over it. That was true friendship right there.

Sighing, Clara slowly increased the gap between her and her friend, taking the time to dry her eyes with the sleeves of her grey jumper. This only increased her friend's already heightened concern.

"Right." began Nina, resulting in Clara turning to face her, "What's goin' on? Have… have you and the Doctor had an argument? Do I need to have a few choice words with him?"

Clara immediately shook her head, biting into her inner lip. If that had been true, yes, it would have been incredibly strange, but it would have been so much simpler.

"No…" she trailed off, once again looking away from Nina.

As a counsellor, one who had already mastered basic psychology and reading human body language, it didn't take long for Nina to see the defensive position put up by her friend, namely the way her arms had folded around her torso.

"Talk to me, Clara." Nina told her gently, "That's what I'm here for."

Clara sighed. Usually she would have made some comment of her 'psychoanalysing' her, but to be honest, her thoughts were so jumbled up that she was pretty lucky that she actually managed to hear her friend speak.

Once again biting her lip, drawing blood from the already weakened area which had been bitten into countless times that morning, Clara brought herself to look towards the kitchen, the one she had previously had her back to.

Motioning with her head as she slowly walked in, Nina – who was pretty intrigued and concerned at the same time – followed gradually in her wake. Clara leant up against the counter adjacent to the cooker and sighed, allowing her heavy eyes to fall onto the table on the furthest wall of the room. Nina, who soon entered, looked over at her silent friend and then at the table directly in front of her after noiselessly being told to do so.

To say her mouth dropped open a little was positively one of the biggest lies of the century. To be fair, the shock on her face at the tiny item on the tabletop was probably only a minute fraction compared to how Clara was feeling inside.

"Holy shit…" Nina trailed off.

"I know…" whispered Clara.

"Holy shit!" Nina repeated, her voice a little louder that time.

"I know." Clara reiterated.

"But…" she trailed off, turning to look at Clara's frail form, "But you…"

"Yeah, I know!" Clara exclaimed, snapping but immediately regretting it.

Nina travelled the entire space of the room in less than a second, ending up directly in front of a trembling Clara.

When a small yet definite smile plastered her lips, Clara just frowned.

"I guess I should say congratulations…" supposed Nina.

Although, by the way Clara turned away, Nina soon saw just why Clara had been so down in herself that morning.

"Oh…" she realised, "Oh dear."

Sighing, Clara shrugged her shoulders and once again folded her arms while Nina slowly moved back, finding the edge of the kitchen table and leaning upon it.

"So what's the problem?" enquired a still rather concerned Nina, "I thought you and the Doctor wanted kids one day?"

The gulp which followed from Clara's direction only made Nina's growing confusion intensify.

"Yeah…" confessed Clara, "But, not yet!"

"Why?" quizzed Nina, discretely slipping into her counselling head.

"Because!" snapped Clara, however, she was unsure about her reason.

Truth be told, Nina was right. She had always wanted children, both she and her husband had. Their ultimate dream as a family was to have little one's to share their joy with, something which they had talked about quite often. Nevertheless, now it was slowly becoming reality, she wasn't too sure. It wasn't that she wasn't sure whether she wanted children, she was just scared; scared something would happen like it had before.

Nina sighed, looking up at her wreck of a friend, a friend who she rarely saw so weak.

"Talk to me…" she tried to ease out of her.

Clara sighed, biting into her thumb before bouncing off the edge of the counter and heading back into the living room.

Sighing in a small amount of defeat, Nina grabbed the test from the counter before following.

"Clara!" she called, "You can't ignore this." She held the stick up to emphasise her point.

"You think I don't know that?!" Clara snapped as she turned, immediately feeling bad upon seeing Nina's calm face.

Of course, Nina wasn't taking anything to heart but it still hurt Clara that she was taking her frustration out on her friend. No excuse would ever make that feel right.

"Sorry…" she expressed, flopping down onto the sofa behind her.

Slowly crossing the room and sitting on the other sofa to Clara, the one opposite to the kitchen door, Nina looked back over at her friend.

"It's just…" Clara attempted to explain, "We've just moved house, the Doctor's just started his new job, I've just properly settled into mine… How would a baby fit into everything?"

Nina sighed, feeling her friend's pain for a moment.

"The same way everything does when it comes to you two… You'll handle it together." she answered honestly, "Have… have you told him?"

Clara shook her head, deeply wishing she could at that exact second. However, part of her also was petrified of what he'd say once he knew.

"No. I've only just found out…" she explained timidly, "I mean, what… what if he doesn't want it? What if he leaves?"

Nina couldn't stop herself from laughing at that; it was honestly one of the most audacious thing's she had heard for a long time.

"That's just _your _fear talking." stated Nina, "This is the Doctor we're on about… He wouldn't leave you for anything, and I think you're forgetting… he _wants_ children just as much as you do."

Hearing Nina say those words filled her with some sort of confidence, a confidence she was seriously lacking.

"You really think so?" she queried softly.

"Course I do!" responded Nina, looking at her as if she'd just said the most absurd thing possible, "Seriously Clara, you've both wanted children for years, so what's the problem now?"

Clara sighed, glancing down at her flattened abdomen. It really hadn't sunk in yet. It looked completely normal yet underneath the layer of skin, cushioned by muscle, a new life was growing. Inside of her, a baby which would be looking more like an alien than a human was beginning its first few weeks of life.

"I just… I don't think it's really… _sunk _in yet." she admitted, slowly looking up at Nina, "I'm gonna be a mother."

"Yeah, you are." confirmed Nina, "A great one."

At that point, Nina expected her friend to smile, at the very least be a little happier. However, instead the room grew intensely still. Clara seemed to freeze for a moment, her thoughts travelling somewhere Nina could only assume was very dark.

"Clara?" she enquired.

Jumping at her friend's voice but not turning to face her, Clara's eyes remained locked onto the spot on the floor.

Moving over immediately to Clara's side, Nina gently nudged her.

"Hey…" she called softly, "Clara? Are… are you really _that_ scared?"

Clara cleared her throat but that made no room for any words to exit.

"I don't understand." Nina trailed off, "Are you… scared of tellin' the Doctor? Is that it?"

Clara slowly closed her eyes momentarily, her heavy eyes almost sinking down as a torturous feeling began burning a deep hole in her heart. It was raw, almost as if the pain she had tried to bury for years was slowly leaking out, flooding her petite body at an agonisingly slowly pace. That was something she couldn't even fully share with her husband, let alone Nina.

"Y-Yeah…" managed to breathe out, hoping her lie wasn't easily recognised, "Yeah, that's it."

"Well, don't be." whispered Nina, "I _know _this will make his day."

Finally bringing herself to look up at her friend, Clara sighed.

"Promise me you'll tell him." wished Nina, "As soon as he gets home."

Clara nodded slowly, becoming more definite as the seconds passed.

"I will." she promised, "I will."

The pair of them spent the rest of the morning together, talking about everything barring babies. Clara had decided that she didn't wish to do that until her husband knew about her pregnancy. Besides, she had no doubt that over the up-and-coming months; babies were going to be one of the most predominately talked about subjects.

Nina left not long after lunch, leaving just as the time for the washing up to be done came about. Her excuse: 'I need to get ready for work', and unfortunately, that was one Clara couldn't argue with. She knew what it was like to be rushed off your feet when your working hours approached at a scarily fast pace. However, the time it took for those hours to end was certainly much slower.

It had occurred to her that she had a lot of people to inform about her current situation, not just the Doctor. There were his family, _including Leanne_, their friends, her Dad… now, that one scared her more than Leanne and that was saying something. Her Dad, Dave Oswald who lived up in Blackpool, still saw her as his little girl. In fact, she was sure that even if she were ninety and by some impossible miracle he was still living at that time, he would still see her as his little girl. However, now she was on the road to becoming a mother, meaning his _little girl _was definitely about to grow up whether he liked it or not. Despite that, Clara didn't really care about any of them at that moment in time. All she wanted was to tell her husband.

* * *

Counting down the minutes, referring between her watch and the clock on the wall every few seconds, Clara was always disheartened when she realised the minutes didn't seem to move. It was only when the clock sounded three that she realised she'd been sat waiting for almost an hour.

It was highly likely that she'd fallen asleep during that time considering she couldn't really remember anything besides constantly checking the two time-telling devices. However, as soon as she heard that certain sounding car pull up on the driveway, the familiar click of the shoes on the tarmac and signature slam of the car door, she shot up like someone had fired caffeine through her blood.

Watching patiently like a dog waiting for its master, Clara watched the lanky man with the rather big yet perfectly sized chin exit the shining blue car through the window. Retrieving his blazer and bag from the back seat, Clara smiled softly as the car locked with a single yellow flash of its indicators. Then the moment she was waiting for happened, he headed towards the front door.

Pushing herself up of the sofa and darting across the room to the front door, Clara opened it mere seconds before he managed to get his small silver key into the lock.

To say that he wasn't a little shocked by her haste appearance would have been a lie and the Doctor was no liar. To be honest, especially since that day was one of the rare days he got to leave the hospital early, he was a little surprised that she wasn't still at the school. After all, it was only five past three and if his memory served him correctly, the home time for pupils wasn't until quarter past three, let alone the staff.

However, he wasn't going to complain. He was more than happy to see her.

"Whoa…" he whispered as she grasped his shoulders sharply, forcefully pulling him through the door and straight into the living room, "Hello."

Dropping his bag as she did so and managing to somehow kick the front door closed, the Doctor soon found his hands gripping her tightly, mainly because of the way she was almost crying into his neck. Softly stroking her hair and planting a deep kiss into it, the Doctor carefully pulled away to be able to look into her eyes, eyes he could see were full of tears ready to be released.

"Hey…" he soothed, cupping her cheeks gently and stroking them with his thumbs, "Darling, what's wrong? Why… why aren't you at work?"

"I took the day off." she admitted in a whisper, "I… I weren't feeling too good this morning."

"Oh, darling…" he sighed, his concern mounting as he looked for any obvious signs of illness, "Why didn't you say anything?"

Clara shrugged her shoulders in response, her hands gripping tightly onto his shirt. Even though she knew exactly what she wanted to say, she was petrified. All she could think of was the time before, the time before she had been in that position and hadn't told him. Look how they had turned out…

"Clara, what's wrong?" he questioned softly.

Bringing herself to look up at him, her lip quivered rather noticeably.

"I…" she trailed off, her hands gripping tighter on his shirt that her knuckles turning a deep shade of yellow, "I need to tell you something… and I'm not sure how you're gonna take it."

"What is it?" he asked softly, feeling her leaning figure slowly pull up so she was back on her own feet.

Clara was aware that a silence was beginning to fall over them but she just couldn't find the words to say. Usually just being in his embrace was enough to fill her with a confidence where she felt she could tell him anything without any worry. However, that day her confidence was seriously lacking.

"Clara…?" he attempted to ease out of her, aware of the struggle taking place behind her heavy eyes.

Once again, the silence which followed was long and heavy, weighing down on Clara's shoulders and making her feel extremely uncomfortable, something she never should be in her own home. The Doctor, on the other hand, didn't share that discomfort. He just felt panicked. It was extremely rare for him to see his wife in such a state, and since he didn't know the exact reasoning, his mind was playing evil tricks on him, immediately making him imagine the worst possible outcomes.

Feeling his eyes glue to her entire body, Clara shuffled on the spot, slowly moving away from him and closer to the sofa.

"How… how was work?" she asked suddenly.

Shaking his head slowly, the Doctor found himself frowning a little.

"Clara, don't change the subject." he silently begged, "You're worrying me now…"

Sighing deeply, her eyes finally rising back to his, her hand snaked slowly around her back. Each action only concerned him further, his frown showing that, but in a way, it just gave her the courage to continue.

Her hand stopped when she reached her back pocket of her jeans, the pen-like object she needed sticking partially out. Gripping it like it was somehow a lifeline, Clara gave herself a moment. She just needed to find the strength to give her the final push… why was she so afraid? He was the Doctor, _her Doctor…_

With one swift, sudden movement, Clara's hand shot around to her front, the test stick taken along for the ride and thrown rather majestically towards the man a little more than a couple of metres away from her, a man she was rather glad had pretty damn quick reflexes and catching skills.

Sighing with a hint of confusion, the young doctor glanced down to his hands, eagerly curious to find out what was going on. Upon seeing the pregnancy test he had unknowingly just caught, the positive test, he found himself literally freezing for a moment. For a few excruciating long seconds in his wife's eyes, he just stared at the result window, sure for a moment his eyes were playing tricks on him, but no, it was definite. Two little lines were what were beaming up at him, two little lines with a power like no other. They were a simple message, nothing more, but they meant that their lives were never going to be the same again… and he was okay with that.

Stood trembling, the relief which crashed down her body when she saw a hint of a smile appear on his lips made her legs feel weak. However, somehow she managed to remain standing.

Lifting his head, the smile from his lips only made her heart flutter the more it continued.

"We're… we're gonna be parents." he trailed off, slowly closing the distance between them before swiftly grabbing her around the waist and spinning her around.

Laughing softly and feeling her emotions get the best of her, Clara released a shaky sigh the moment her feet returned to the ground and his lips crashed against hers.

They broke apart, their noses still touching as his smile refused to leave. "We're gonna be parents." he repeated, kissing her again and that time she could taste his tears. He was happy. Unbelievably happy.

There was no doubt in her mind any longer, no doubt at all. His reaction was all she had needed to see to make all her worried seem absolutely meaningless. He was overjoyed, and that knowledge alone was enough to make her utterly prepared for the months ahead. Now all they needed to do was tell the rest of their family.


	3. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (1)

_The Doctor had always loved Christmas and it only got better when he first child was born. There was nothing that could spoil his first Christmas as a father, nor his second or his third_…_ Or was there? After all, there was always drama when two particular women were under the same roof and a little thing like Christmas wouldn't stop that, would it?_

* * *

**The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Pt. I)**

Their daughter's first Christmas was something the Doctor knew he would never forget. She was eight months old at the time, too young to remember the day herself but old enough to allow him and Clara to make some of the best memories possible. After all, it was the first Christmas where the person at the centre of attention wasn't each other. Instead it was their little girl.

The day had begun early, not that he had minded. Milly had woken up at 5:30 in the morning, eager for her bottle. The Doctor, who must have been lying awake in anticipation for almost an hour, was straight up and into the nursery. The smile from his wriggling little girl in the cot was the only Christmas present he needed.

"Hello Merry." he cooed, his grin wide as he lifted the little girl out of the cot, "Merry Christmas baby."

For a few moments he just stood there, grinning and whispering sweet nothings to the little baby held in his hands. She was as light as a feather, gurgling happily as the Doctor repeatedly kissed her soft head before leaving her bedroom and heading down the stairs.

When he reached the bottom of the stairs and turned into the living room, lightly bouncing the little girl on his hip, he reached for a remote sat upon one of the pillows on the sofa. He clicked all four buttons on the device, watching the heavily decorated room light up before him. He loved Christmas and by the way Milly was watching the now-flashing decorations around her, he was sure she would grow to love it too.

He gasped loudly, capturing the little girl's attention.

"It's Christmas, Merry." he smiled, the little girl soon copying, "It really is."

Through the smile, he could see her beginning to get a little grizzly. He didn't blame her really, she was hungry. Making his way into the kitchen, he flicked on the kettle to boil the water already inside.

Milly grumbled so he started singing to her, dancing around the kitchen to keep her occupied until he could heat up the final bottle from yesterday's set. Leanne had almost crucified Clara when learning of her re-heating Milly's milk in order to feed her. She'd even had the audacity to call her a bad mother. That had been enough to push him over the edge. Had she forgotten that she used to reheat his, James and Chris' bottles when they were babies? It hadn't done any of them any harm. It hadn't harmed Jenny either. Rose had always reheated her bottles as a baby. In fact, it was her who had advised Clara to always make up the six bottles in the morning and keep them in the fridge throughout the day. That way, there would always be one available for feeding, especially one for next morning.

By the time the bottle was warmed and ready, the milk tested against his skin for good measure, Milly happily took it in his arms. For a few moments, the Doctor just watched her, treasuring the few precious moments. He had been lucky to get the day off but his boss had an unwritten rule when planning the rotas for his staff over Christmas and New Year. He always tried to ensure that those with families, especially young children, got Christmas Day off providing they worked New Year's Day. That worked for him.

With his chin holding the bottle in place with Milly over one arm, he got to work on preparing that day's bottles. Ever since becoming a parent, his ability to multitask had certainly developed. Even as a surgeon, he didn't seem to multitask as much as he did when with his little Merry.

He'd somehow managed to prepare all the bottles and put them into the fridge just as Milly finished the remainders of her bottle.

He grinned as he put the bottle on the side. "Oh, who's a good girl?" he cooed.

Within minutes of beginning to burp her, the Doctor heard soft steps coming down the stairs. Milly was done by that point, allowing him to instantly pop his head out of the kitchen door.

"Clara!" his smile was bright as she stifled a yawn.

He pulled her into his free side and kissed her briefly. "Merry Christmas darling."

She smiled warmly against his lips. "Merry Christmas." she returned, sighing softly as his nose nuzzled against hers, "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Was just about to." he promised, brushing her lips again.

"Uh-hm." she rolled back her shoulders as he turned to return to the kitchen, "Ah, ah…" she objected, "My turn."

He turned back around and grinned as he saw her reaching for the baby, the baby whose eyes were glued to her mother. The Doctor had no objection in handing her over, watching lovingly as he saw Clara's eyes light up the moment Milly was in her arms. She was absolute, one hundred percent made to be a mother.

"Merry, Merry Christmas baby girl." softly holding the little girl a few inches above her tilted head.

She brought her down to a flurry of kisses, the action making the little girl squeal in delight.

"Are we gonna see Granddad, Uncle James and Aunty Rose later?" Clara whispered against the little girl's skin, the sight making the Doctor's heart flutter, "Yeah… Are we?"

That Christmas had certainly been one of the Doctor's favourites up until that point, probably because Leanne hadn't been in the picture. That piece of luck had fallen due to her winning a free holiday to the Caribbean Islands for Christmas and New Year. Out of everything, that was certainly his best Christmas present. He felt awful for feeling that way but he knew that having her and Clara in the same room would have been a recipe for disaster. It always was.

"Merry Christmas!" the two blondes on the doorway exclaimed.

Clara was the one at the door, immediately hugging the six year old who pounced on her.

"Merry Christmas, Aunty Clara!"

She had no time to answer before Jenny let her go and ran into the living room to her Uncle and baby cousin. Smiling, Clara turned to the couple at the door.

"Come on in." she ushered them in, receiving a hug from Rose and a peck on the cheek from her brother-in-law.

"Merry Christmas." he closed the door for her, "Did Santa bring you everything you wanted?"

Clara sighed, letting him go into the living room before her.

"Leanne still out of the country?" she wondered.

James nodded, a smirk teasing the side of his mouth. "Yes." he answered.

Clara shrugged her shoulders. "Then yes." she brushed passed him, going over to help Rose and Jenny slide all of the Christmas presents under the tree. They were getting opened after dinner.

At the same time, the Doctor crossed the room to greet his big brother.

"James." he grinned, handing the baby in his arms to his spikey-haired brother, "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas." he returned, having a few moments with Milly, "And how's my favourite niece doing?"

Watching as the little girl reached for the collar on his brown pinstriped suit, James grinned almost goofily.

"I remember when Jen was this small." he commented, sighing as he played with the baby in his arms, "I can't wait to go through it all again…"

Just then, the little girl started blowing raspberries at him, making both her Uncle and Father both laugh. James began copying the little girl every time she paused until the pair of them were almost in a little battle.

"See?" he cooed to her, "I can do it just as good as you. _Yes I can._"

Rose was knelt next to the tree, her eyes rolling which only made Clara smile more.

"I cannot believe he's trying to compete with a baby…" her voice was uncharacteristically posh for a few moments before she actually burst out laughing at the fact that he stumbled back after getting showered by little Milly's latest raspberry.

"I think Mills won." Clara laughed with her, the two women sharing a smirk between one another.

The Doctor just watched on as his James stopped, frowning towards his niece but with a smile which made the said frown look more ridiculous that threatening.

"Alright, you win." James sighed, kissing the little girl's nose before looking up at the Doctor, "I never won against Jenny either."

The Doctor grinned. "Yeah, but did you really want to?"

James shook his head. "Nah." he sighed, soon finding himself looking between his baby brother and Clara. "Hang on, if you two are in here… then who's cooking?"

He pointed over his shoulder to emphasise his point. He was sure he could hear someone in there.

Clara smiled as she slowly stood up. "My Dad." _Speak of the devil. _

James turned to face the kitchen door just as the figure stood in the doorway, a tea towel in hand as he dried something he couldn't quite make out.

"Dave!" James exclaimed, his goofy grin returning, "Merry Christmas!"

By the time dinner came, the only sound that could be heard was the music playing in the background when they actually ate. However, then came the Smith boys' favourite part: the Christmas crackers.

With a partially-ripped red hat sat crookedly on his head, James grinned at the little snip of paper between his fingers.

"_What says 'Oh Oh Oh?'_" he read.

No-one said a thing, they just waited for the inevitable.

"_Santa walking backwards!_"

The two Smith boys laughed, Rose's head dropped while Dave actually dared a smile.

"God." Rose sighed, "That's terrible!"

Jenny, who sat between her Mum and Dad, just looked confused.

"I don't get it." she pouted.

That was Rose's highlight which made her laugh. It was proof that Jenny hadn't inherited her Dad's awful sense of humour.

The little girl reached for her own cracker, grinning as she leant over the table to Dave. He took it willingly, pretending to struggle pulling the piece of shiny red cardboard so when it ripped, the little girl won. Good thing too since the hat inside was a soft pink.

"Oh…" Rose moaned as the others begun pulling crackers between them, "I wanted the pink one."

Jenny looked around, her hair flicking in a way which would have made hair advertisers proud. Her bold eyes met her mother's and she smiled, passing the small folded piece of tissue paper to her Mum.

"Here you go, Mummy." Jenny offered.

Rose felt her smile grow and the back of her throat actually tingled. Her little girl had always had such a kind heart, especially for someone so young, and it always made her burst with pride.

"Oh no, honey." she shook her head to reinforce her statement.

"But it's Christmas, Mummy." she looked up at her, "I want you to be happy."

"I am happy, honey." she promised, "Tell ya what." she grabbed her cracker, "Pull this with me and let me have hat inside and you can have the joke _and the toy._"

Jenny's teeth began to show. "Even if you win the cracker?"

"Even then."

They all sat at the table with hats on their heads watching the little girl pull the cracker with Rose. James soon joined in, aiding Jenny with pulling the cracker. Meanwhile, the Doctor excused himself silently from the table in order to head over to the fridge and grab one of the awaiting bottles. He needed to heat it up since Clara was nearing the end of feeding the little girl in her highchair. After all, they knew that soon she'd be in need of her bottle before her afternoon nap.

"_What did the sea say to Santa?_" Jenny read the joke from the cracker proudly, happy since the said cracker had given her Mum a hot pink hat.

She looked towards Clara who shrugged her shoulders.

"I don't know." she grinned at the little girl.

"_Nothing!_" Jenny told them all excitedly, "_It just waved!_"

The entire room broke out in laughter, laughter from Clara and Rose being mostly for Jenny's benefit. However, they were both pretty sure the laughter from their husbands was genuine.

Clara wiped Milly's face with a bit of a battle, nothing new, just as she felt the Doctor leant down to kiss the top of her head between the rims of her green crown. He then released Milly from her high chair and lifted her up, smiling as her little red tartan dress bunched up in his hand.

As he begun to feed her her bottle, James began to stand, quickly halted by Dave who rose to his feet.

"Don't you dare." he warned, "I'll clear up."

James adamantly shook his head and stood up. "No way, Mr Ozzie Oswald." he looked towards Dave, "You helped prepare dinner. I'm cleaning up."

Jenny jumped up off her chair. "Daddy, can I help?" she asked rapidly, making the others smile. They all knew she was eager to tidy up so they could go and open the rest of the presents under the tree.

"Yeah, course you can." he smiled, extending his hand out to Jenny before pointing at Dave with his other, "You, sit."

Dave only laughed to himself. He remembered similar Christmases in his past where he and Clara had cleaned up after Ellie had made dinner all morning. Who was he to deny James and Jenny the same opportunities?

With the washing up done and Milly settled in her pram by the living room window, it came to the part Jenny had been waiting for all day.

"Present time!" she cried, racing into the living room and sitting eagerly by the tree.

They all grinned as they entered the room and sat down. Rose and Clara took the large sofa opposite the door which led to the stairs, both curling their legs up and leaning on their armrests. James took the floor directly in front of Rose, Dave took the armchair with its back to the kitchen door while the Doctor next to Jenny by the tree.

It was his job to get out the presents from under the tree while Jenny was his little helper who delivered each present to the designated person. _Easy. _

It only took a good half an hour to dish out all the presents. While all the adults had piles of about three each and then some combined presents, e.g. for each couple, Jenny's pile seemed to tower. That settled it. She was opening hers last.

The Doctor moved over on the floor and sat in front of Clara, watching on as Dave was given permission from Jenny to open his presents first. The entire present-opening for all of them was going to take a while, and they were going to need a lot of black bin liners for all of the wrapping paper!

It was when all the presents were opened and the Doctor began offering drinks that Rose dropped the biggest shock of the day.

"Actually, James and I do have one other present we'd like to share." she took a deep breath as James gave her had a quick squeeze.

The Doctor and Clara were intrigued, their smiles already growing when they saw Jenny beginning to grin wildly.

"We're having another baby." Rose announced.

While the Doctor's jaw dropped, Clara's face just split to sport a massive grin. She immediately leant across the sofa and pulled the blonde into a hug.

"Oh, congratulations!" she cried into Rose's hair before pulling back, "I'm so happy for you!"

Rose did blush a little, her smile stuck on her face. "Thanks."

"When are you due?" Clara wondered.

"June." she answered.

Clara grinned wildly, soon turning to the little girl sat on the floor.

"You're gonna be a big sister!"

Jenny smiled wildly, hopping up onto her feet. "I know."

"Are you excited?" Clara asked, receiving a massive nod from the little girl who made her way over to join her Aunty and Mummy on the sofa.

Meanwhile, the Doctor pushed himself up off the floor, James following as his feet were starting to go numb.

"Congratulations, big brother." he grinned, ultimately hugging it out with him.

James, Rose and Jenny left the house not long after eleven o'clock that night, very happy to say they'd all had a great Christmas Day. Jenny was long asleep and therefore being carried by her Mum to the car. That meant James had drawn the short straw. He had to carry the two massive bags of Jenny's presents which Rose and Clara had spent almost fifteen minutes packing earlier that night.

With them gone, Dave also excused himself, going upstairs to the guestroom in which he was staying until he travelled back home to Blackpool the day after Boxing Day. It was only mere moments after that that Milly's final bottle was ready, hopefully meaning she'd sleep then throughout the night. If she had her last bottle between 10 and 11 at night, they usually managed to go through until five the next morning, six if they were lucky.

Clara took both Milly and her bottle upstairs to feed her while the Doctor had a quick tidy-up of the kitchen and turned off all of the Christmas lights for the night. He then followed his wife by heading upstairs, ensuring the house alarm was active for downstairs before slipping into his bedroom.

Clara was on the bed, softly rocking Milly while singing gently to her. It was always the best combination when getting their little girl to sleep.

"She gone?" the Doctor didn't dare speak above a whisper.

Clara nodded tiredly, smiling gently when she felt him take the baby from her. With her fast asleep in his arms, he slipped out of their room. The small silence allowed Clara's to fall back on the headboard. She sighed to herself, her ears aware of the baby monitor in Milly's room being turned on when the one on her bedside table sound.

The Doctor soon quietly slipped back into their room, gently closing the door behind him. Kicking his shoes off, he quietly moved around to her side of the bed and sat down, the sudden dip making her slowly open her eyes.

The Doctor smiled tiredly at her, leaning forward and stealing a soft kiss.

"You need to get changed." he whispered, only earning a tired moan from his wife, "Come on." he whispered.

Clara somehow pushed herself up, smiling softly as the Doctor assisted her by unzipping her dress at the back. She then managed to start slipping out of her dress and into her nightdress, allowing the Doctor to also get changed.

When they finally did manage to slip under the covers, both were just as relieved as each other. Clara sighed, snuggling into the Doctor's light embrace where he kissed her hairline.

"Had a good day, darling?" his voice was soft.

Clara nodded, her smile large enough for him to feel against his skin.

"What time are you working tomorrow?" she was fast falling asleep. He could tell.

"Not 'til one." he explained, kissing her one more time, "Night, night, my Clara… Merry Christmas."

* * *

Milly's second Christmas was the one where Clara had drawn the short straw and ended up having the pleasure of having Leanne come into her home. James and Rose had tried, _really tried, _to get her to come over to their house but she was having none of it. Not even the appeal of joining them for baby Sarah Jane's first Christmas was enough to tempt her.

Clara was in the kitchen, refusing to move from the moment she heard the doorbell sound. The Doctor, who had been stood at in the kitchen doorway alternating between watching Clara and Milly playing on the living room floor, saw her noticeably tense. The day was going to be no Christmas present for her.

Sighing as Clara didn't even turn to look at him, the Doctor began to small trek over the messy living room to reach the front door. Milly's presents off Santa which had been opened that morning were dotted all over the floor, the hyperactive 20 month old toddler constantly switching between toys every few seconds.

The bell rung again, the Doctor actually rolling his eyes. His mother had been an impatient woman. Rolling his shoulders back, he opened the door and put on his best smile.

"Hello, Mum."

"Oh, John!" the woman on the doorstep greeted, pulling his face down to hers with her wrinkling hands.

The Doctor rolled his eyes again, allowing her to greet him with her typical two kisses. When she pulled away, only then did she move far enough away from the door to allow him to close it.

"Wow, John." she commented, looking around the messy living room at all of the decorations, "It looks good."

The Doctor stood in the doorway, waiting for the inevitable. Leanne McCrimmon was never that nice. She always had to throw a downgrading comment somewhere or another into a conversation and considering she was only one room away from his wife, he'd have been a fool not to think that she'd somehow drag her into it.

She stood in the centre of the room slowly pivoting, her eyes examining every detail they could reach. He just stood there with his tongue pushing against his cheek, waiting for her next move.

"I don't like the stockings though." she pointing towards the items hanging in front of the faux fireplace to the right of the doorway the Doctor was still stood in, "How is it fair that Clara's is bigger than both yours _and _Amelia's?"

The Doctor rolled his eyes yet again. There she was, always finding a way to criticise Clara. No wonder she'd opted to stay in the kitchen.

"For goodness sake, Leanne." the Doctor huffed, lifting up the said little girl who had toddled over to him, "Mine and Clara's stockings are exactly the same size." he frowned as his mother raised her eyebrow, "And her name's _Milly._"

Leanne sighed. "Amelia was so much better." she sighed, smiling at the rather timid little girl in her son's arms, "I still can't believe you let her talk you into calling her Milly instead."

The Doctor felt himself gulp. "Mother, enough." he demanded, soft but enough to show he meant it, "Its Christmas. Please, just for today, enough with making every little thing Clara's fault."

Leanne, dressed in her pink blazer jacket and black skirt, stood for a few moments before allowing her shoulders to drop.

"Fine…" she relented, holding her arms out to Milly, "Hello beautiful!"

Slightly reluctantly, the Doctor allowed Leanne to take Milly from his arms. He could tell immediately she was a little uncertain going over to her grandmother, unsurprising since she wasn't used to seeing her.

The Doctor watched her like a hawk before slowly moving towards the kitchen door, actually smiling when he saw Clara appear in the doorway. He would have spoken but he was unsure what to say, especially when he caught her biting her lip. It actually made him shudder. He hated how Leanne could make her so nervous. Clara was never nervous.

If Leanne had noticed her, she didn't acknowledge. She was more focused on the little girl she was bouncing up and down at her side.

"Did Santa come to you?" she cooed, her smile something which the Doctor hadn't seen since he was in a child. Actually, he was sure she never smiled like that even when he was a child. "Did he? Did he come?"

Milly was still a little wary but she did begin to smile, nodding slowly at her grandmother.

"Yay!" Leanne smiled, turning and only then letting her eyes fall upon her daughter-in-law.

Her smile ultimately dropped, earning herself a firm warning stare from her youngest son.

She sighed deeply. "Clara." the word tasting like poison on her tongue.

Clara seemed to share the discomfort Leanne was showing.

"Leanne." she looked down, hoping for a moment she could suddenly conjure up an acceptable excuse to return to cooking the dinner. God how she hated feeling so uncomfortable in her own house… and her husband wasn't helping. He just stood there, acting as useful as a hole in the head.

Leanne swiftly looked away, turning to begin tickling the little girl. The Doctor used that opportunity to grip his wife's hand, completely missing the way Leanne had made Milly giggle.

"No. No. No." Milly laugher, her grin wide.

Leanne laughed along with her before she suddenly stopped and gasped, her eyes running over the presents under the tree in the corner of the room.

"Oh dear, Milly." Leanne pouted at the one year old, "Has nasty Mummy not let you open all of your Christmas presents?"

Leanne sat on the sofa nearest the tree, Milly sat on her lap facing her.

"Now that won't do, will it?" Milly listened intensely but didn't understand a word.

"Mother!" the Doctor cried, "What did I _just _say?!"

Clara stood there, her anger rising by the moment. She didn't want to be angry. It was Christmas for goodness sake!

"There are still unopened presents…" she tried to justify to which Clara snapped.

"There's a reason for that, Leanne!"

Even Milly jumped, her eyes wide.

"In this house, the presents from Santa are opened in the morning and the rest left under the tree are opened after dinner as a family." her tone was harsh.

Leanne's frown was deep. "She's one!" she cried, looking towards Milly to emphasise her point, "Why should she have to wait to open her presents?!"

"Because that's how it works in this house!" she cried.

Leanne's glare was cold. "And why exactly do _you_ make all the rules?" her tone bitter, "Doesn't John get a say at all?"

"Mother…" he warned.

Clara was really trying to hold her tongue, something she was failing miserably.

"No!" Leanne shouted, "I never made you boys wait all day until you could open your presents so why the hell should Milly have to?!"

Clara actually stomped her foot. "If you don't like it, get out!" she screamed.

Milly immediately burst into tears, covering her eyes as the water soaked her red cheeks.

Clara immediately felt her cheeks burn, her throat stinging. "Oh God, Milly…" she gasped.

Her heart sank but before she even had the chance to move even a step closer to her daughter, Leanne pulled the toddler into her arms, soothingly rubbing the back of her head. The look she shot towards Clara was deadly enough to make her freeze on the spot.

"Now look what you've done!" she spat through her gritted teeth, whispering sweet nothing's into the little girl's ear.

Clara released a shaky, broken breath. It felt as though all the air had been kicked out of her lungs. With her legs like lead, she somehow retreated into the kitchen, every sob from Milly eating deeper into her heart.

"Clara…" the Doctor barely spoke, his hand brushing hers as she moved away.

Within seconds, Clara was hunched over the sink, grateful the noise from the cooker hood was loud enough to drown out Milly and Leanne. She dreaded to even dare think what Leanne was now saying about her to her daughter.

"Clara?" the Doctor repeated, having appeared not too far behind her.

She immediately straightened, looking towards the window long enough to run her two fingers under her eyes to prevent any offending tears falling. She spun on her heels, not daring to look directly at her husband. She needed to make it through the day.

"Right!" she sprang into action, grabbing a lukewarm bottle from the counter nearest the kettle, "Mills needs her bottle." she handed it to him, "Go and give it to her, will ya?"

The rest of morning seemed to go oddly smoothly but the Doctor hated every moment of it. Milly, who was napping on a cushion near to the fireplace, had been very clingy to him since Clara's outburst at Leanne. Leanne had been ignoring her earlier promise and had been moaning and criticising Clara as best she could, thinking he was actually paying attention and as for Clara, she's kept herself busy preparing dinner. He'd hardly seen her.

He used the opportunity of James calling Leanne to wish Merry Christmas to slip into the kitchen. For once, he was more than grateful his brother had his phone switched on so he could receive the needed SOS. Christmas Day certainly wasn't running as smoothly as he'd hoped. On the other hand, the anticipated drama had certainly reared its ugly head.

When dinner came around, it was silent all barring the music playing in the background. Not even WHAM! or Band Aid were working their usual Christmas magic and when the time came, the crackers remained unopened.

Clara jumped at the chance to go to Milly when they heard her stirring from her nap. Anything to get away from her mother-in-law was the best present in her eyes.

Milly was rubbing her eyes as she walked into the living room, clutching her little white kitten under her arm. When she saw Clara, her face did crumple but that seemed to ease when she smiled gently down at her.

"Hello baby." she sighed, dropping down to sit on the floor next to her daughter.

"Mummy." Milly muttered, clutching her kitten tighter when Clara began soothingly rubbing her head.

"I'm so sorry, baby." she sighed, leaning down to plant a flurry of kisses, "Mummy's very, very sorry she made you sad earlier."

Milly yawned, looking up at her Mum.

"Can I have a cuddle?" Clara asked hopefully, actually trembling in fear her little girl wouldn't want to hug her. Then again, after her scaring her the way she had, part of her wouldn't have blamed her.

She felt a tsunami of relief wash over her as the little girl clambered up and climbed into her arms, her little arms wrapping tightly around her neck. After a few moments, Milly snuggled into Clara's hair, smiling when she felt her begin to rub the back of her head.

"Presents!"

Clara immediately laughed, pulling Milly back far enough so she met her face. Her little smile only made her do the same things.

"You wanna open your presents?" she grinned as Milly nodded, "Yeah?"

She stood, Milly still sat in her arms. "Tidy up table. Then open presents." she promised, "Okay?"

"Yay!" Milly clapped, leaning to kiss her Mum's awaiting lips.

"Good girl!"

Clara had ended up doing all the washing up, not that she minded. With Milly happy again, a large portion of the day's tension melted away. It wasn't going to be easy but she wasn't going to let Leanne being in her home ruin her day.

Placing the final glass onto the drainer, Clara sighed. _Finally. _

Happily throwing the dishcloth into the empty bowl, Clara dried her hands and turned on her heels. She had only one objective: watch her little girl open the rest of her Christmas presents. However, that objective seemed particularly pointless when she came to a stop in the kitchen doorway, the exact same moment the Doctor entered the living room through the other door.

They both froze in place, their jaws dropping.

"Mum!" the Doctor cried. He'd only left her alone for two minutes to fetch the camera.

Clara felt her heart drop yet again and stomach grow hollow due to what she was seeing.

"Leanne! What are you doing?!" her question was desperate as she looked down at her oblivious little girl, happily opening her fourth present in Leanne's lap.

Leanne turned to Clara, acting as if what she asked was one of the strangest questions she'd ever heard.

"Milly wanted to open her presents." she explained innocently as she helped the little girl rip the paper.

Clara began to feel breathless again and as expected, the sting at the back of her throat returned.

"Mum, you were supposed to wait for me and Clara!" the Doctor was surprisingly calm despite the fact he was livid. He knew she'd only done it for Clara's benefit.

"I couldn't let her wait any longer." Leanne smiled at Milly when she held up the contents of the present she'd just finished unwrapping, "Oh, wow!"

Clara stepped into the living room, her fists clenched so tight the muscles in her arm were actually crying out for mercy.

"Leanne, didn't you think that maybe we wanted to _see_ her open her presents?" she somehow managed to ask without her voice faltering.

Leanne rolled her eyes. "Oh, get over yourself!" she demanded,

"Its her first Christmas where she could open her own presents." Clara really did want to scream but she didn't want a repeat performance from earlier, "I wanted to see her do so… That's why we open them together as a family after dinner!"

As Clara's voice rose, so did Leanne, physically. Now standing, reaching the same height as Clara, the tightness of her eyes was certainly noticeable.

"Well, maybe Milly didn't want _you_ watching her open her presents!" Leanne's tone was evil, "Why would she want you breathing down her neck every two seconds?"

"I am her mother!" Clara was livid.

"And that's why I pity her. She could do so much better!"

It was now the Doctor's turn to snap. Enough was enough!

"Mum!"

However, Clara had just stopped. Completely and utterly frozen. Those words had honestly felt like a pint of salt being poured into an open wound. Painful didn't even cover how much it had hurt.

"How dare you…" the Doctor's eyes were dark but Clara hadn't noticed.

"Leave it, Doctor." Clara sniffed, her voice barely audible but enough to interrupt him, "Just forget it."

She brushed quickly past her husband, very much aware that she needed to get out of there. The air in the room had become too thick, it was suffocating.

The Doctor caught her hand as she reached the doorway to upstairs.

"Clara…" he tried to object.

His frown was obvious but it was due to such an array of emotions, he couldn't work it out: confusion, concern, anger, frustration. You name it, he felt it.

Milly sat on the floor, watching her parents with uncertainty.

"Clara, please…" he tried again to no avail.

She carelessly waved her free hand. She'd completely and utterly given up. She couldn't take any more, no more drama, no more Leanne. It turns out the lady in pink had won and for the first time ever, she didn't care.

"No, just forget it." she repeated a little louder, "You three open your presents. I… I can't do this anymore."

Leanne smirk did appear. "Typical!" she hissed, "See John? I told you she was no good."

The Doctor simply ignored her, his gaze not leaving his wife.

"Clara." he was sterner, "Come on…"

"No!" she physically cried that time, her emotions exploding as she reached her limit, "No more!"

She violently pulled her hand away. "You three have a very Merry _fucking _Christmas!"

And with that she ran up the stairs, not daring to say or do anything more.

The Doctor stood there, speechless.

He felt his eyes water and he let his two calloused hands roughly rub his forehead and through his hair. _It was his fault…_ He knew he should have been more insistent, told Leanne she couldn't come. He'd known right from the beginning, her and Clara in the same room was never going to end well, not even at Christmas.

"Oh Milly. Isn't it so much better now that Moody Mummy's gone?" he heard Leanne say, each word making muscles clench just that little bit harder.

The Doctor turned dangerously slow on his heels, his eyes tight when he saw her grinning wildly at his daughter now in her arms.

"Now we can have a lovely Christmas Day, just the three of us." she laughed at the confused toddler, "No more _drama. _No more nasty Mummy!"

The Doctor only stood there for a few moments but that in itself was dangerous. Just looking at her was adding to his irradiating anger and the fact that Leanne hadn't looked up yet only made it worse. She obviously knew she pushed it a step too far.

"Get out." he stately flatly, his voice oddly calm.

It was then and only then that Leanne looked up, a mixture of a pout and confused frown gracing her face.

"I'm sorry…?" she laughed lightly.

The Doctor slowly approached. "I said: Get. Out." his sentence was broken but it was as clear as day as he came to a stop before her.

Leanne's eyes were wide and she dared not to object as the Doctor took Milly out of her arms. She was going whether she liked it or not.

"You can't be serious…" she trailed off as he remained silent. His look said it all. "John!" she objected, "Its Christmas Day!"

The Doctor didn't bat an eyelid. "Well, it's a shame you couldn't remember that."

The fact she'd taken offence had absolutely no effect on him.

"I asked you to do one thing, Leanne." he was clear, "_One thing…_ And you couldn't do it. You couldn't even try."

Leanne scoffed. "Oh, John, come on!" she cried. Now she was the desperate one.

He simply shook his head. "You know where the door is." he remained cool, "Now get out."

She didn't even manage to speak before his look silenced her. He may have thought her look at Clara had been cold but that was noting in comparison to what she was now receiving.

"Get. Out!" he demanded, backing her towards the front door.

She barely managed to grab her bag and blazer from off the sofa before he had her at the front door. Bouncing the little girl on his hip, he'd have been lying if he had said he wasn't glad to see her open the door.

"You'll regret this, John." she sighed, slipping her blazer on just a car pulled up outside.

The Doctor sighed, briefly looking down at Milly before back at her.

"No." he actually allowed himself to smile, "I know I won't."

Leanne remained still for a few more moments, her final attempt to break through to him.

"You not welcome here, Leanne." he had calmed considerably but the point still stood, "Now go."

She turned away in a huff, her pink shoes hitting the ground harshly as she tried to find her car keys in her bag. The Doctor didn't even bother watching further, instead he turned to face the family who, despite only just getting out of their car, had witnessed the entire scene.

James, hands in his pockets, smiled falsely.

"Had a good day, baby brother?" he sincerely wondered.

The Doctor sighed, smiling lazily in response. At that moment, he was glad to hear Leanne's car start up. That meant she was going.

Rose exited their car and then proceeded to get the newest addition in the family out of her car seat, sharing the exact moment with Leanne driving away.

James frowned softly when he saw his little brother smile at that. Something had clearly happened.

"It's much better now, thanks." the Doctor sighed, ushering the group towards the door, "Come on in."

Rose smiled softly, carefully carrying the six month old baby in her arms as well as greeting Milly as she stepped through the front door.

"Looks like we got 'ere just in time." she commented as James helped Jenny carry in the Christmas presents.

When they all got into the living room and the Doctor had closed the door, Rose couldn't help but frown.

"Where's Clara?" she wondered aloud.

The Doctor sighed. "Yeah, about that…" he trailed off momentarily, following them in and placing Milly on the floor with a soft kiss on her head, "You wouldn't mind making yourselves at home and watching Merry for a little bit, would ya?"

Rose sighed as the Doctor rose to his feet, James tapping his brother's shoulder reassuringly as he headed towards the kitchen. They weren't stupid enough to ask what had happened but they understood.

"Course not." James answered, "I'll go do the drinks drinks! Rose, what d'ya want?"

Rose smiled softly, quickly turning to face the Doctor who was just about head of the room.

"G&amp;T's available?" she queried.

The Doctor smiled softly. "Always for you, Rose."

The blonde grinned, turning towards the kitchen which her husband had already disappeared into.

"G&amp;T!" she requested loudly, something James was already half way in preparing.

Despite the lively atmosphere now building in the downstairs of the Smith household, the upstairs was a different story. In the master bedroom, now all cried out, Clara lay face down on her bed. Of all things she could say, she only had three words in mind: Worst. Christmas. Ever.

She didn't really hear anything but she was aware of her bedroom door opening, something which made her scrunch her face and bury it into the quilt beneath her. She gulped as she felt the bed dip next to her.

"Clara…" she felt her husband's hand come to brush the back of her head.

She squirmed away, sniffing against her white pillow which likely was now stained black from her eye make-up.

"Go away, Doctor…" her voice was weak, "Please." she added.

The Doctor sighed, absolutely refusing to do so and shuffling himself closer. He couldn't believe just how bad he'd allowed the day to get.

"She's gone, Clara." he whispered, leaning against her ear softly, "She really, really is."

He softly kissed her hair before pulling away, sighing while she gulped. It was only then that she finally brought herself to turn her head enough to see his face.

His hand reaching out for hers. When she gripped it, he smiled.

"I'm so sorry." he looked down and bit his lip, "I should have been more insistent with her." his thumb stroked the back of her hand, "Told her she couldn't come today."

Clara shook her head, using her other hand to rub her eyes. She was really trying to not cry again but she wasn't sure whether she would manage.

"No." she managed to say, "I…"

She rubbed her cheek with her cardigan sleeve to catch the escaping tears.

"I should have tried harder." she admitted.

That made the Doctor frown. "No, you shouldn't have." he was adamant, "You did nothing wrong. Absolutely _nothing _wrong."

Clara sighed shakily, wetting her drying lips.

"She's always pushing it _way _too far…" he sighed, bringing his hand to her face and rubbing her cheek with his thumb, "And the worst thing is, I knew that… and I still let her come."

Their eyes met for a moment, making her lip quiver.

"What kind of husband does that make me?" he asked mostly to himself, "Every time you're forced together, she always does something to you… Although, I've never seen her get to you quite as much as she has today…"

It was as Clara looked away from him that his heart began to beat just that little bit harder. Something wasn't right…

His frown intensified, not that she noticed. "Clara?" he probed lightly. Her silence only concerned him further, "Clara, what's going on?

She just shook her head. "It's nothing." she insisted just a little too quickly for his liking.

Now he really was concerned.

"Darling…?" he tried to draw out a response.

Still not looking at him, she actually moved herself. Effectively flipping over from on her front, she pushed herself up the bed to sit against the headboard, her hands landing in her lap.

The Doctor watched intensely as she began to nervously fiddle with her fingertips.

"Look." he sighed softly, "I know it hasn't been a great Christmas but…"

"It's not that." she interrupted, her teeth noticeably scraping over her bottom lip.

He took her hands, their eyes meeting. "Then what?"

The silence which followed only made him shuffle closer. He may not have spoken any further but his eyes were enough for her to hear.

Clara took a breath, lightly shrugging a single shoulder.

"I– I'm… I'm pregnant, Doctor." she confessed, aware her husband's eyes had widened rather considerably.

He didn't speak but the silence was something she could deal with no longer.

"I-IwasgonnatellyouaftergettingthroughtodaywithLeannebut…"

Her rush of words were silence by his lips meeting hers, his hand resting on her hip. All the bottled up emotion still coursing through her veins was released through her tears, tears which mingled with his. She sincerely hoped that was because he was happy.

Parting their lips but keeping their faces incredibly close, the Doctor brought his hand up to rest on her cheek. It was at that moment she noticed him smiling.

"Best Christmas present ever." he pecked her lips again, happy to finally see her smiling with him.

Clara agreed, laughing slightly before her expression turned a little more serious.

"Just know this Doctor." she began, easily capturing his attention, "She is _never _coming into this house for Christmas again. I don't care that she's your mother. It's not happening."

He nodded immediately. "I second it, third it, fourth it, hundredth it, thousandth it." he babbled, "Never again, I swear."

Clara nodded slowly, sharing a final kiss with her husband before he gave her a little bit more space.

As the moments pass and her tears came to a resounding stop, Clara roughly shook her head, her hands coming up to cover her face.

"God, I must look a mess." she whispered.

The Doctor simply shook his head, his hand finding its way to cup her cheek.

"You always look beautiful to me." he declared.

Clara immediately giggled, shoving his hand away playfully.

"Oh, you stupid boy." she rubbed her eyes before looking towards him, genuinely smiling for a few moments, "Merry Christmas, Doctor."

He smiled back. "Merry Christmas, Clara."

She watched on, feeling the massive pressure of the day fade into nothingness. Perhaps the rest of the day would now be much more pleasant than it had been.

"James and Rose are here." the Doctor suddenly announced, "Come back downstairs. Come say hello."

Clara sighed, softly rubbing her arm.

"You can have a cuddle with baby Sarah Jane…" he teased, tempting her, "Besides, Rose is on the gin. She may need someone else to hold her soon."

Clara genuinely laughed again, brushing her loose locks with her hand.

"Sounds good to me."


	4. The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (2)

_The Doctor was sure that Christmas would never become as bad as the last. He wasn't going to allow it. However, that didn't mean that fate would allow it. After all, Christmas may be wonderful but families aren't always, especially not his family when it came to his wife and mother. _

* * *

**The Most Wonderful Time of the Year (Pt. II)**

The Doctor was determined that Milly's next Christmas would not be a repeat of the last. There was no way while his heart was beating that he was going to let Clara have a Christmas like the last. He had said never again and he meant it. He actually thanked his lucky star that Milly had been too young to both understand and remember.

Christmas that year was something Milly shared with her baby sister, Charley. At only five months old, she had absolutely no idea of the importance of the day but Milly, just how he had hoped, had grown to love Christmas. She couldn't wait for Santa to come, so much so he'd already had to replace her advent calendar since she'd eaten all of the chocolate in order to reach twenty-four thinking that would have made Santa come quicker. How he loved kid logic…

Clara had hoped to have a Christmas as just the four of them. Originally her Dad had been invited down but regrettably he'd had to cancel in order to go into hospital for a tonsillectomy. She was more than happy he was finally getting it done, whether it was over the Christmas season or not. Those things had been giving him jip for years.

They were all prepared for the big day, the Doctor having gotten the turkey crown and Clara having ensured all of Milly's secret presents had been hidden under the tree at the back where she couldn't find. However, then came the bombshell. _The invitation._

Clara was stood in the kitchen doorway, feeding the baby in her arms, when the Doctor dared himself to read out the text message he'd received only four days before Christmas Day. It one of those communal messages that was sent to a large group at once and as his eyes skimmed over the text, he did gulp. He could almost feel Clara's stare burning into him…

He did hesitate before he finally brought himself to read it. _"I'm throwing a Christmas bash at the Rose &amp; Crown on Christmas Day. Home-cooked Christmas dinner will be at two in the afternoon followed by a private party in the lounge. I expect everyone will be in attendance barring my younger son if…"_ he trailed off, the action making Clara noticeably take a step closer into the living room, her eyes tight.

"If what?" her head dropped a little, her gaze icy. He daren't look up.

The Doctor shuffled on the spot, daring himself to look at the tiny baby in his wife's arms. At only 5lb6oz when she was born, she really had been much more delicate than Milly after her birth. She had grown remarkable well since then and she certainly fed well. He was sure that since her birth, she had never not finished a bottle.

"I… I'd rather not say in front of Charley." he confessed quietly.

Clara pursed her lips together. "Doctor." she warned.

He gulped again, looking at the phone in his hand.

"I expect everyone will be in attendance barring my younger son if his _wife _has anything to do with it. Hope to see you all there, Leanne. Kiss, kiss."

Clara raised her eyebrow further than expected.

"Um-hm." she didn't believe a word, "What's it really say?"

The Doctor looked like a deer in headlights. "Just that!" he swore, backing away as she advanced further into the room. She may have been small but she could still frighten him to a certain extent. She was most definitely _the boss._

"You know, you may be a total screaming genius who's rather modest and _even_ a tiny bit sexy but you're also a lousy liar." she actually dared to smirk for a fraction of a second, "What does it say, Doctor? _Honestly?_"

His shoulder's dropped and he began reading instantly, his voice not flat in tone.

"_I expect everyone will be in attendance barring my younger son if his so-called thing of a wife has decided she's too above spending Christmas down the pub and has anything to do with it. Anyways, hope to see you all there, Leanne. Kiss, kiss."_

Clara nodded slowly, her tongue pushing against the back of her lips. _Wow. _

The Doctor watched her uncertainly, amazed how the wheels in her mind were turning and she still was able to feed Charley without a problem. It was as if she was on autopilot.

Clara scoffed rather loudly after a few moments, the sharp noise making him jump.

"Well, if she thinks that _lovely _invitation gonna make me go down her pub for Christmas, she's got another thing coming." she allowed herself to smile after finishing.

She turned back towards the kitchen, completely missing her husband's arms flailing about.

"Actually-Actually Clara…" he paused as she turned, her face dropping.

He could almost hear the inside of her head screaming at him.

"_Please_ tell me you weren't going to suggest we _actually_ go…?" she was hopeful but his face said it all, "Do you not _remember_ last Christmas at all?"

"Clara…" he tried to speak.

"You know," she continued, cutting him off, "I might take it back when I called you a total screaming genius a few seconds ago."

"Clara, please." he sighed, the action making her go quiet. He was serious. Actually, properly serious.

"_Really?_" she stressed, "Why?"

The Doctor's following smile was clearly false. "She'll only make it more difficult _for you_ if we don't turn up." he had a point, "In the long run, it's easier."

Clara rolled her eyes. "Seriously, when did you lose your backbone?" she softly cried, "You _always_ used to rebel against her as a teenager!"

The Doctor just stood there. "A lots happened since we were teenagers." he stated, "We didn't have children then, Clara. I don't want her trying to poison their minds against you because, come on. You know she'd try something like that…"

Clara sighed. He was right. She hated to admit it but he was.

"Please, darling. I'm only thinking of you." he breathed in and out, "Just for dinner and an hour of the party. Then we can get the hell out of there."

Clara rolled her eyes, much softer that time. "Fine…" she agreed.

So on Christmas Day four days later, Clara found herself walking into the dimly-lit pub and dreading every moment she was about to endure. She couldn't think of anything worse in the festive season. She was _actually _walking straight into Leanne's web.

Dressed in her black and red tartan dress, she aimed to get Charley's pushchair through the incredibly narrow door, very thankful the Doctor had opted to go in first to hold it open. She'd always hated the pub ever since Leanne had taken it over. If felt like a lifetime ago when she worked there part-time as a waitress during her summer holidays in Sixth Form.

"Daddy?" Milly was sat on the Doctor's free arm, looking down at her Mummy and baby sister, "Why Charley sleeping?"

Clara had just managed to get through the door with a huff when the Doctor turned to face his eldest daughter, his smile gentle.

"Because she's a baby." he explained in a rather happy voice, "And babies sleep a lot."

Milly frowned and folded her arms, her expression one he had to bite his lip at in order to stop himself laughing. He loved how expressive she was. He much preferred her being expressive rather than having the _Terrible Two _tantrums. So far they'd been very lucky. He could count on one hand how many tantrums she'd had and considering they were eight months into her second year, he was pretty happy about that.

"Milly wanna be a baby!"

The Doctor followed his wife who was heading over to an empty table within one of the empty booths. It was rather close to the bar but she made sure to have her back on it so she didn't have the unfortunate pleasure of seeing Leanne every five minutes.

"Oh, no you don't." the Doctor smiled as he kissed Milly's dark hair, "Babies can't play with their Daddy like this!"

Clara had just sat down when she heard Milly's loud giggle. Having pulled Charley's pushchair as close as possible, she looked up from the sleeping baby to see the Doctor repeatedly pretending to drop Milly before flurrying her face with kisses as he brought her back up. It must have continued for a good two minutes before the Doctor, aware Rose was pretending to sneak up on him, stopped and let Milly work with her Aunty in order to scare him.

The laugh which followed from Clara made the Doctor smile as they shared a look. However, it was soon lost when Clara caught sight of the land lady coming from behind the bar and heading over to her husband.

"Oh, John!" she cried happily, her pink-painted lips positively smiling as she headed over to him. She clearly hadn't seen Clara yet.

The Doctor leant down into his mother's classic hug and two kisses, aware Milly had gone very still in his arms. She hadn't had the fortune of seeing her grandmother since her one and only visit to their home not long after Charley's birth five months ago.

"Happy Christmas, son." she gave him a final kiss, unaware of him wiping away her lipstick stain as soon as she turned to look at Milly, "And Happy Christmas Amelia!"

"Milly!" both the Doctor and Rose corrected instantly, their two voice merging into one.

The said little girl looked around, a little unsure what to do. The Doctor soon saw this and smiled softly at her.

"Say Merry Christmas to Nana, Milly." he encouraged gently.

She was shy, something she never was with anyone else. Watching from the small distance, Clara did feel a little happier than she should have at that particular fact. It wasn't that she wanted Milly to hate her grandmother but a large part of her was glad they weren't close. It meant there was less chance of having to see the said woman and that was certainly something she was glad for.

Milly pushed against her Dad's chest while she looked down at Leanne.

"Merry Kissmas."

Rose did start laughing softly at that and she soon shared a smile with the Doctor over it. She guessed being a mother herself allowed her to find some things that young children said and did completely and utterly adorable.

"Aww…" she cooed, her hearty laugh still present.

Milly turned to look at her Dad and Aunty, smiling herself when seeing them so happy.

"So John." Leanne's deep voice destroyed the moment, "Is _Clara _he–" she cut off abruptly, turning enough to see the mentioned woman only metres away sat in one of the booths.

Clara waved with a false smile bordering on a smirk, having watched the scene completely from her seat.

Leanne noticeably rolled her eyes, her shoulders dropping.

"You know what?" Rose whispered to the Doctor, sensing the forthcoming scene, "I'll come over and say hello in a minute."

She tapped his shoulder softly and immediately walked away, leaving the Doctor to follow his mother who was slowly approaching his wife. _Now it began. _

Leanne stopped, for the first time ever actually towering over Clara, and remained silent. The Doctor followed, his tension being senses by Milly who also remained quiet. Then again, she still didn't feel too comfortable around the older woman in pink.

"Clara…" Leanne acted as if the name were painful to say.

Clara silently sighed. "Leanne." she acknowledged, her arms folding defensively across her chest. She wasn't sure whether having her mother-in-law approach her was a good thing or a bad thing.

The Doctor didn't dare try and say anything. He'd have probably been shot at dawn.

Leanne turned her head slowly to face her youngest son, his eyes pleading with her not to do anything. He just wanted one Christmas, _one Christmas, _with no drama.

Somehow, much to his shock, she appeared to listen.

"Look, _Clara…_" she paused, acting disgusted with herself as she turned to face her, "I-I know we don't usually get along…"

Clara raised her eyebrow as she licked her drying lips. _That was the understatement of the year._

"But since its Christmas," her voice was flat, "Why don't we try to be civil for the day?"

Both the Doctor and Clara were shocked, the Doctor more noticeably as he stood there with wide eyes.

"I can be civil." Clara was sharing the same flat tone as she lightly shrugged her shoulders, "Look, I have an every better suggestion." Clara leant forward on her knees. "Why don't we just stay out of each other's way? Make it even easier to _be civil._"

Leanne scoffed. "Fine by me!" she was adamant.

"Good." Clara actually smiled, waving her mother-in-law "_Bye!_"

Leanne swiftly left them be, the Doctor releasing his held breath as he looked down at his wife. That had gone surprisingly well…

Passing Milly down to her, he shuffled around the other side of the table and sat down, sticking his tongue out at the two year old on Clara's lap. That made them both smile, Milly copying which Clara just laughed. He always had been a child trapped in a grown up body.

"Ooh!" the Doctor remembered, reaching into his jacket pocket and depositing a bunch of strands of metal into her palm, "Can you put them in your bag?" It was the car keys.

She didn't answer, she just complied, nudging her handbag on the floor with her foot to expose the opening. The keys were then dropped expertly into it. That was a skill she had mastered a long time ago.

Within moments, Rose and her two girls had appeared in the other table in the booth, the lot of them all greeting each other and exchanging Christmas greetings. It wasn't long before Jenny dragged Milly and Sarah Jane up to the empty area which would soon become the dance floor, the three of them chasing each other around in a chorus of giggles.

Clara watched them with a soft smile. Jenny was now eight and had certainly grown into a lovely little girl, the spitting image of her mother. Sarah Jane on the other hand was more like her dad, her absent brother-in-law. With dark hair and goofy grin, the eighteen month old toddler seemed to be having the time of her life with her sister and cousin. Not bad since she was still rather unsteady on her feet despite having been walking since she was eleven months old.

It was the Doctor's kiss to her head when he stood which recaptured her attention.

"I'll get the drinks in." he explained softly, also wishing to go and greet his brother who he'd spotted working at the bar, "G&amp;T's?"

"Ooh, please." Rose held her hand up softly and smiled as she leant across the soft booth towards Clara.

The Doctor then turned to Clara who he could tell was debating with herself. Did she play it safe or hit the strong stuff so early in the day? It wasn't her who was driving home later…

"Um… I'll have a Martini." she decided.

Rose felt her eyes widen, sighing when she saw Clara's famous smile refusing to make an appearance.

"_Get her two."_ she mouthed to the Doctor. Maybe getting her a little tipsier would make the day more enjoyable.

The Doctor laughed softly, leaving the two women be. While they began talking about everything and nothing, he reached the bar in only a few steps, smiling at his goofy-grinning brother. He'd just finished serving someone the Doctor could only guess was one of Leanne's friends.

"Righty-o, lil' bro!" James was enjoying his temporary job way too much, "What'll it be?"

The Doctor couldn't help but laugh just as James glanced over to Clara and Rose watching him from the booth.

He waved wildly. "Oh, I am loving this…" his voice trailed off in sync with his wave, "Right. Rose'll want gin and tonic."

The Doctor watched as James got on with it, vaguely aware of two older women coming to the bar and standing on his right.

"What d'you and Clara want?" James asked, the gin poured and tonic being added naturally.

"Um, _double _Martini and I'll have an orange and lemonade." he took the gin and tonic from his brother.

James grimaced. "Crike, its only half one and she's going on the Martini's?" he looked sympathetic, "Take it she didn't wanna come?"

The Doctor only laughed. That said it all.

"And an orange and lemonade?" he had to confirm, "Take it you're driving…?"

The Doctor nodded. "It's a long drive home." he somehow felt the need to explain, "I won't risk it with the girls."

James nodded, understanding completely. He knew it was safe to have a pint and drive but even he wouldn't risk it. His family were much more important than a drink.

As James got to work on preparing the drinks, the Doctor did watch for a few moments but it wasn't long before his keen ears began to pick up on the conversation of the two women next to him.

"Yeah, that's John…" the one whispered, "The one who married that _Clara _over there."

The Doctor's eyes rolled, his head falling against his hand as she pointed discreetly. He had no idea who the women even were, obviously two women Leanne knew, and yet there they were talking about his wife. Of course the only things they'd heard about her was from his mother.

"Oh, I know the one!" the other recalled in the same tone, "The one who Leanne said almost stopped him becoming a doctor because she didn't want him to go to university and leave her."

"Yeah!" she nodded, "The one who forced him to have a baby to make sure he'd never leave!"

The woman's jaw dropped, her head turning not-so-subtly to look towards Clara.

"Which one is she?" the one asked.

"The dark-haired one with the awful red dress and black tights." she explained, "The one next to Rose, James' wife."

The woman glanced over at the Doctor to make sure he hadn't heard. He obviously had but for the moment, he was listening. He needed to buy his time. After all, it was a rare look into exactly what Leanne said about Clara when he wasn't around.

"God, look at her!" the one cried, "Doesn't she know that red is _seriously _not her colour?!"

The Doctor's fingers began to tap against the bar. They didn't even know her and they were judging her based on what they'd heard. He knew that it was human nature but he didn't want to hear it, not when it came to Clara.

"I know, right." the woman agreed before she glanced towards the apparently-not-hearing Doctor, "What does he see in her?"

It was then he reached the limit, the hand he'd been leaning on dropping harshly against the bar.

"Alright, enough!" he cried, the two women jumping having been caught off guard, "That's my wife you're talking about!"

James was just about to put the two drinks onto the bar until he realised what was happening. His brows shot up, deciding it best to keep hold of the two breakable glasses for a few moments. _He'd only turned around for a minute…_

The two women stood, speechless.

"You don't even know her! All you've heard about her is from Leanne and I promise you, half of that will not be true." he was adamant, "So please… don't judge her before you know her."

He took the two drinks from James, directing his attention to the twenty pound note on the bar.

"Just bring the change over later, will ya?" he requested, turning away from the two women.

The women looked between each other, not that the Doctor could see that.

"Leanne said he used to be such a good boy…" the one sighed, clearly not understanding that their form of whispering wasn't very quiet at all.

"Ah, love can stop people seeing what some people are really like."

The Doctor sniggered to himself at that. _So could ignorance…_

. . . . .

After the dinner had been served, eaten and removed, Leanne's so-called Christmas party began. James had opted to not go back behind the bar and had pulled his family up onto the dancefloor. Rose was giggling away, bouncing Sarah Jane on her hip while watching Jenny trying to teach her father an almost-impossible dance for someone for someone of his age. Cartwheels and handstands seemed to be two of the most prominent moves and Rose was one hundred percent sure that that alone would be enough of a Christmas present if she got to see him attempt it.

"Am I late?!" a very distinct voice cried as the pub door burst open, "Did I miss the party?"

Rose's eyes widened, her growing smile making James turn around.

"Jack!" she cried, dashing over to hug the grinning individual.

"Well, hello there, Rose!" he hugged her tightly back, soon aware of a small person in her arms. He pulled away, smiling in awe at the dark-haired child. "And who is this?"

James stepped over, smiling broadly at the latecomer.

"Baby number 2." he announced, "This is Sarah Jane."

Jack's face softened. "Sarah Jane Smith…" he looked a little shaken saying that name as he looked up at her parents, "I was sorry to hear about Sarah Jane last year…"

James smiled sadly, shrugging his shoulders softly. "She had a nice send off." he told him.

Jack nodded. "And how's the boy?" he asked, "Luke, was it?"

Rose nodded. "He'd doing pretty well." she explained, "In his second year of Uni."

"Good for him." Jack smiled sincerely before looking around, "Where's that little brother of yours, Jay?"

The Doctor and Clara stepped forward, the two girls being carried between the pair of them. They were both smiling wide, amazed to see their friend once again. It had been far too long.

"Hello Jack." the Doctor smiled warmly, "Merry Christmas."

Jack looked between the pair, about to say hello when he saw the little one in Clara's arms.

"Another baby!" he cried, actually pointing to the curious little girl.

Clara laughed, kissing her little girl's head. "See the things you miss when you're away for so long?"

Jack looked away from the baby and glanced towards Milly. He knew she wouldn't remember him. She was only weeks old when he'd met her, too young for her recall, so he really was glad to see her smile at him.

"Is this your little sister?" Jack directed her attention to the baby.

Milly nodded immediately, all eyes on her.

"Nah, she's not…" Jack shook his head dramatically.

Milly nodded harder. "Yeah she is!" she countered, actually making the Doctor smile.

"Really?" his mouth dropped open, "Well, if she's your sister you must know her name, don't you?"

Milly nodded again and Jack shook his head in response. "Nah, you don't…"

Milly was nodding so hard the Doctor had to steady her head. Any harder and she probably would have given herself a headache.

"Tell him." the Doctor whispered.

Milly grinned. "Charley!"

Jack covered his mouth, making the adults smile. He always had been one for drama and despite the fact he didn't have any, he loved children.

"Charley?!" he repeated, "Wow!"

The Doctor smiled, shaking Jack's hand. "It's good to see you, Jack."

"Likewise." he nodded, lightly moving over to hug Clara, "And you, Clara. It's been a while."

Clara sighed happily. "I know." she agreed, "And how are you? I heard you'd been in a car accident and then you were back on tour…"

Jack nodded. "Yeah, well it took a while." he admitted, "It was January last year when I had the accident. Some kid decided to take a joyride down the wrong side of the carriageway. My car must've flipped twice…"

All but the children grimaced, the Doctor actually going wide eyed. He was a surgeon and during his career he'd seen and dealt with many gruesome injuries. It was very rare that car accident victims didn't look a mess when brought into his operating theatre, no matter how hard the trauma nurses have tried to clean them up.

"My God…" Rose sighed, "Were you okay?"

Jack shrugged his shoulders. "Dunno. Don't really remember much after the car hitting me." he confessed, "I woke up after surgery and was told I'd been lucky. My back had been broken in two places but there was no spinal cord damage."

The Doctor nodded. "You were lucky." he seconded.

"But there were complications with the actual surgery." he added, "I lost a lot of blood. I actually _died _on the table."

"Oh God…" Rose sighed. The accident hadn't been Jack's only near-death experience throughout his life. Back when he'd been a teenager, he'd been in a boating accident with his father and drowned. Then too he'd died and been resuscitated by paramedics.

"You really on the man who never dies, aren't you?" Rose laughed lightly with them all barring James. He just stood there with a deep, confused frown.

"And the Army _actually _let you back in after all this?" he had to ask.

Jack winked. "Captain Jack Harkness doesn't let a little think like a broken back get in his way." he grinned, "When duty calls, duty calls."

The group had chatted for a while longer but it wasn't long after that Charley had been in need of a feed, making Clara depart the group in order to feed her. Now sat in the booth giving Charley her bottle, she watched the Doctor and Jack spin Milly around for what she believed was the fifth time… or sixth. She'd lost count after the third time but that didn't stop her being amazed that the little girl hadn't been sick yet.

Charley was down to her last ounce when a figure appeared at her side, a figure whom she didn't recognise. Clara swiftly looked around, a mixture of a frown and wide eyes appearing on her face.

The person remained silent, allowing Clara's frown to take over.

"Can I _help_ you, Leanne?" she wondered, hoping her question would be enough to make her go away. Seriously, she never came over to her and if her memory served her correctly, they had agreed to stay out of each other's way.

Leanne sighed sharply. "I…" she scratched the side of her head, "I might make myself sick by admitting this but I… I need your help…"

Clara actually sniggered, softly shaking her head. "Why me?" she had to ask, allowing her curiosity to get the better of her.

"Because I'm being civil!" Leanne snapped.

Clara laughed that time. "Right…" she drew out, "No thanks."

Leanne cocked her head to the side. "Wow, you really are a bitch, aren't you?"

Clara rolled her eyes harshly. "Leanne, you haven't liked me since I met the Doctor… and we were _four!_"

Leanne sighed, running her hand over her dyed, ash-blonde hair.

"Look, I just need help taking a couple of boxes down the cellar." she explained.

Clara glanced back at the empty bar. "Haven't you got staff for that?"

"They're busy!" she was growing more agitated by the moment.

"I'm busy!" Clara objected, referring her attention to the baby she was still feeding.

"Just– one box!" Leanne exclaimed, making Clara roll her eyes. _Was she really that desperate?_

Clara sighed, using the action to show her annoyance. "Well, you're gonna have to wait." she pointed out, "Charley comes before you any day."

Leanne looked hopeful. _Strange._

"So you'll help?" she queried.

"Yes!" Clara snapped, "Now go away. I'll meet you at the bar in a minute."

"Promise?" Leanne asked her.

"YES!"

Clara was unsure how to read the situation. Leanne was _never _that nice, not to her. In fact she was sure that they had never had a conversation alone where they didn't almost kill each other, so what exactly had just happened?

She met Leanne at the bar, leaving Charley asleep in her pushchair being watched by Sukie, one of Leanne's barmaid's. She was still uncertain why _she _was helping Leanne and not Sukie but she didn't query it. The quicker she got it over and done with, the better.

Leanne led her into the quiet kitchen, the only noise being from dishwashers. It was there on the table in the middle of the room that she saw the box in question. It was nothing more than a large cardboard box full of crisps.

Clara lifted it and immediately frowned. It was nowhere near heavy. Why did Leanne need her to help her carry it downstairs?

"Seriously?" she had to ask, "This is what you need taking down?"

Leanne rolled her eyes and actually pushed her towards the door to the cellar at the other end of the room. Clara actually did stumble and was rather thankful that she was able to regain her balance rather well in high-heeled boots.

"Just go!" she demanded.

Huffing, Clara rolled her eyes as she walked down the narrow staircase which led downstairs. She was as careful as she could be, doing her best to feel for each step with her feet so she didn't take an unwanted trip. All the way down, she was very much aware of Leanne being so close but she daren't say anything. A dark staircase would never be a safe place to tick Leanne off.

The cellar itself was rather well-lit, not exactly like she'd imagined it. For some reason, she'd expected stone floors and dark, damp walls with vague lighting. Instead, it was lit with strong lights in each corner and painted rather bright.

The wall to the left of the staircase had stacks of ale barrels lined up against it, some still full and a few empty. The smaller wall opposite to the staircase had three large wooden doors, all which were open so she could see were storage cupboards. She assumed that was where she was heading.

"Just in there at the back." Leanne pointed to one on the left.

Out of all three, the one on the left was the only one which had a partly blocked off doorway thanks to one of the barrels. _Of course it had to be the awkward one._

Somehow Clara managed to slip inside, amazed how packed the cupboard was. It was full of large crisp boxed and contained an astounding number of unstable-looking shelves on the walls. Also, it was cold. Unbelievably cold.

"Here?" Clara asked, pointing to one of the closer spaces she could see where the box would fit.

Leanne was stood at the door shaking her head.

"No. At the back." she pointed at another crisp box at the back near to the wall. She wanted the one Clara was holding on top of that.

Clara leaned over, finding the task rather difficult due to her height. Even her heels weren't helping her. Why hadn't she asked someone else? Rose, James, the Doctor? They were all taller!

Before she even had time to ask, her answer came in the form of a loud bang.

Clara shot around, the darkness of the room obvious as the door was now closed. It took a few moments before she realised what had just happened.

"Leanne?!"

Then came the click. _The lock. _

The tiny part of her which had considered it may not have been deliberate were lost in a second. She was locked in a cold, dark cupboard… _Leanne had locked her _in a cold, dark cupboard.

"Leanne!" she banged her hand harshly against the door, "Leanne, let me out!"

_Nothing. _

"Leanne, let me out!" she demanded, "Leanne! LEANNE!"

. . . . .

The Doctor had to stop after almost half an hour of non-stop dancing with Milly. He wasn't as young as he used to be. James and Rose seemed to have the same idea, both finding that they could only keep up with Jenny for so long. Therefore, they all opted to return to their tables. Jack, on the other hand, remained with Jenny, Sarah Jane and Milly who he was happily keeping occupied. For the first time ever, his army training was proving handy as he knew how to conserve his energy enough to keep up with three young children.

The Doctor returned to the table, his face dropping when he saw it was empty. Stood frowning for a moment, his frown intensified when he saw movement in the pushchair. It was Charley.

Rose and James got to the table just as the Doctor lifted his youngest daughter from the pushchair. She wasn't distressed having being left alone, in fact she was smiling. However, that didn't stop the feeling which was building in his stomach. It wasn't like Clara to leave Charley alone, in fact, he knew she'd never done it and she never would.

"Where's Clara?" James' question voiced his concern.

The Doctor slowly pivoted, his eyes scanning the room at a rapid pace while he held Charley against his shoulder.

"I have no idea." he confessed.

He was getting a bad feeling. Any other time he would just have assumed she'd popped to the toilet but he was in his mother's pub. It was basic knowledge in their family, putting Leanne and Clara into the same equation never ended well. _Never._

Rose and James had also begun to look around, both puzzled as to the whereabouts of the Doctor's wife. They knew Clara; she would never leave Charley alone. Not for a second.

"Perhaps she's just popped to the loo." Rose suggested, "I can go and have a look…?"

The Doctor didn't want to appear desperate but he was. Clara never disappeared, not like that, and there was no way she'd just abandon their little girl. The growing feeling of uncertainty building in his gut was something he couldn't ignore. Not that time.

He only nodded, watching Rose more than happily comply with his wish. Still looking around, the Doctor and James shared a look. This alone made the lanky young doctor spin on his heels and head towards the bar. He couldn't just wait for Rose to come back.

"Excuse me?" he got the two young barmaids' attention, "You haven't by chance seen my wife, Clara, have you?"

Leanne suddenly stepped out of the kitchen, her pink attire standing out harshly against her staff's black uniforms.

"Oh, I was meant to tell you." she sighed, easily capturing the Doctor's attention before coming to a stop at the bar, "She's gone home."

The Doctor wasn't sure he had heard right… _What?_

Instinctively he repositioned Charley in his arms. For a child so young, she wasn't half curious about the world around her. She wanted to look everywhere at once and that alone led to an awful lot of fidgeting.

"What?!" he managed to bring himself to ask.

Leanne sighed. "She went home." she repeated, "She said she wasn't feeling too well."

The Doctor shook his head in disbelief. She would have told him, _surely…_

"And she told you?" he genuinely wondered. That didn't sound like his Clara.

Leanne sighed sympathetically. "I'm sorry, John." she expressed, "I can't say I wasn't happy to see her go but I did tell her I'd tell you. Sorry…"

The Doctor sighed, rubbing around his mouth. Part of him didn't believe her. It may have been awful to admit but he didn't. Leanne McCrimmon wasn't someone who tended to be entirely truthful if it didn't suit her.

However, the longer he stood there, the longer his mind began to wonder if perhaps it was true. She wasn't in the lounge, that was for sure, and with how much she had been dreading the day, perhaps she had given up.

"If-If she's gone home, she's taken the car…" he said aloud, the realisation dawning on him as he looked between his daughter and mother, "How are we meant to get home?"

Leanne lightly shrugged her shoulders. "You can stay here tonight." she offered, "I'll drive you back tomorrow. I would do it tonight but I've had one too many already…"

Her following giggle was lost to him. He just sighed. He wasn't going to call a taxi. It would be far too expensive for the hour and a half journey back home to Whitechapel.

"Yeah…" he trailed off, unhappy about the situation, "Thanks Mum."

Leanne left him be, returning to the kitchen while he just stood there. He couldn't believe it. Clara wouldn't simply up and leave. She may have thought it, wished it even, but she wouldn't have done it.

He reached into his pocket and retrieved his phone. His thumbprint unlocked it luckily. He didn't think he'd safely type in a password with how he was feeling.

He found Clara's number, rung her and listened intensely to the line. He was almost desperate for her to answer.

_Nothing._

Ending the call, the Doctor moved away from the bar and returned back to the booth. His sceptical-looking brother gave him a look. He seemed to be sharing the feeling he just couldn't hide. Even with Charley in his arms, he couldn't calm completely. The entire situation just didn't feel right.

"And?" James wanted to know.

The Doctor just shrugged his shoulders. "Apparently she's gone home…" he placed his phone on the table in front of him. "And she's not answering her phone."

Rose got back to the booth only to see the two Smith brothers looking noticeable tense.

"She's not in the bathroom…" the blonde trailed off, her hands falling to her hips, "What's happened?"

James sighed. "Apparently she's gone home." he raised his eyebrow.

Rose was now frowning. "Who said?"

James scoffed. "Leanne." he answered, his look sceptical.

Rose then copied her husband's earlier scoffed before looking towards the bar.

"Alright, what's she done to her?" her question was more than serious.

The Doctor sighed, his teeth biting into his inner lip. He didn't bother looking towards his brother or sister-in-law, he just sat looking at the phone. Any moment now Clara would call back and he'd learn his worrying was over nothing. Any moment now…

"Can I get you any more drinks?"

Rose turned to see her mother-in-law stood there, positively beaming in a way she'd hardly ever seen.

"Where's Clara?" she automatically asked, the question making Leanne's two boys look towards her.

Leanne just shrugged her shoulders, the movement making James tighten his eyes at her. She wasn't acting like the mother he knew. She was far too… happy. That alone probably was due to Clara's absence.

"She went home." Leanne seemed surprisingly relaxed, "Didn't John tell you?"

The Doctor stopped listening as she began to babble on about something or other. He didn't care about what Clara had _apparently _said to his mother, the same mother who spent every moment in his wife's company trying to find a way to limit their contact. Did she honestly expect him to believe she had stood there and listened to this _explanation _Clara had apparently told her?

He just continued to look towards his phone, completely missing the moment when Leanne walked off.

"She's lying." Rose's voice broke through to him and made him look up.

James loudly smacked his hand over his lips. "_My God, really?_"

Rose sighed, ignoring the sarcasm in her husband's voice. They were all feeling uneasy about everything. Christmas was supposed to be a fun and relaxed time but it most certainly wasn't shaping up to that.

The Doctor shifted, feeling his foot hit something under the table. Upon instinct he looked down, his frown intensifying at what he saw: Clara's handbag.

He felt the knot in his stomach shoot up into the back of his throat. There was no way in hell Clara would have left without her handbag. Her handbag was almost as important as Charley's bag which was hung over her pushchair handles. It contained her entire life: phone, purse, diary, everything. However, above everything, they contained something more important than anything else. The car keys. It was impossible for her to have left without the car keys.

. . . . .

"Doctor!"

Clara's throat was beginning to grow dry. It was clear no-one was coming. To be honest, she doubted anyone could hear her. She was in the cellar for goodness sake. Even if by some chance someone could have heard her, the loud Christmas music playing above would have drowned her out.

She was beginning to grow cold in that tiny cupboard, internally cursing herself for being stupid enough to even bother trusting Leanne for a second. Honestly, why had the fact that she'd promised actually made her believe, even for a second, that she could let guard down? Had she forgotten Leanne was pure evil wrapped up in that god-awful pink suit?

Clara hadn't realised she was shivering until she stumbled off her heels, moaning when her back collided with the corner of one of the boxes. It may have only been cardboard but it still hurt like hell.

When she managed to stand again, her hand involuntarily twisted back to rub her back. It amazed her how a simple rub to a sore area could convince the brain it wasn't as bad. Pure psychology.

However, what she hadn't realised is that her elbow had collided with the cardboard box behind her. It wouldn't have been a problem if that's all that had happened but the said box, having being shoved over, hit another box. That was the problem.

Before she even realised what had happened, the loose shelf on the wall began to fall. She knew it hadn't looked stable.

She did scream, not that anyone would have heard, as the entire metal contraption fell, the contents dropping harshly along with it. Somehow, she managed to move away but it wasn't far enough considering the space was so small. The heavy falling items hit her legs with no mercy and although she didn't feel her tights rip, she was pretty sure the skin underneath had.

The fall seemed to go on forever, the noise unbearably loud. Even when some of the items had stopped falling, the ones above fell upon them.

She cried out when what felt like a wooden plank hit her hand. She immediately pulled away but the pain remained. She could move it but she wasn't stupid. She knew the quickly cooling liquid rolling over her skin was yet more blood.

"Shit!" she cursed, her heartbeat loud enough to be heard as the falling items came to the relieving halt.

Clara gulped, trembling. The best Christmas present was certainly the shelf finally stopping its avalanche upon her.

She needed help. More to the point, she needed to get out. A large part of her wanted nothing more than to slash Leanne's throat, a violent thought but scarily true at that moment. However, a larger part just needed to get out. She was feeling awfully claustrophobic.

"I think it came from down here!"

Her head snapped towards the door. She was sure she'd just heard a voice… She certainly hoped she had. However, she wouldn't have been surprised if it had been her mind playing an evil trick on her.

"Hello? Is anyone down here?"

She recognised that voice.

"James…" she whispered to herself, almost disbelieving.

"Is there?" she heard another say.

She definitely knew that voice!

"Doctor!" she shouted, "DOCTOR!"

The commotion which followed actually made her sigh, relieved that she'd be locking in her prison cell no longer. It was clearly the Doctor and his brother running over to the door, one of them shoving the barrel she knew was blocking to doorway out of the way while the other pulled on the lock.

_It clicked. _

The door opened and Clara immediately grabbed for her husband, his hand falling to her lower back so she could step over the fallen mess.

"Doctor." her arms wrapped quickly around his neck, her sore legs actually giving way as she cried into his shoulder.

He lowered with her to the floor, his hand cupping around the back of her head. He knew she hadn't left.

With Clara in his arms, the Doctor let his eyes scan over the room in which she'd been confined. It was rather small and it took him a little longer than it should have to realise the shelf had only recently collapsed. That was when he felt his eyes widen.

"Are you okay?" he gently pushed her away enough to see her.

Her eyes were red from her tears and then he saw her hand was red from her blood. His first aid soon kicked in, especially as he could see the wound was still bleeding.

"There a first aid kit up in the kitchen?" he asked suddenly, lifting Clara's hand.

Clara glanced over his shoulder to see James heading towards the stairs.

"I need a bandage." he continued.

"I'll go have a look." James swore.

He quickly dashed up the stairs and within moments was back with the little green box, darting over and then handed it to his little brother. The Doctor immediately sprang into action, glad that his mother's pub contained first aid kits which _did _have the needed item.

He grabbed a sealed crepe bandage and ripped the packaging off, already having cleaned the area. He applied the pad to the wound and ensured the bandage was wrapped efficiently, enough to contain the bleeding until he could close the wound.

She was lucky. From what he could see, the cut had been a little deep but it wasn't too long so wouldn't require stitches. She'd probably get away with tissue adhesive or skin-closure strips, depending which he had handy in his kit in the car.

He sighed, running his thumb across Clara's damp cheek.

"I'll close that up when we get upstairs." he promised, "Just need to get the kit from the car."

"I'll do it." James offered suddenly, "Either that or I kill Mum."

Clara sighed deeply. "I'd be fine with getting it myself."

James smiled softly, completely understanding what she was suggesting.

"Thanks." the Doctor suddenly said, making James nod before disappearing up the stairs.

The Doctor sighed, looking over his wife.

"Do I even need to ask who…?"

Clara shaking her head cut him off. "I want to go home." she confessed quietly.

The Doctor nodded as he stood, reaching for her other hand to help her up. It was only then that he noticed the dark patches on her tights, indications she also had injuries on her legs.

"Come on." he ushered her gently to the stairs, "Let me get you sorted out and then we can."

. . . . .

Rose sighed when she saw Clara and the Doctor return, Clara immediately taking Charley from her as she stood. She didn't know what to say.

"James told me." she explained.

Clara nodded, bending down to strap Charley into her pushchair.

"Yeah…" she trailed off, "Should've known better really."

Clara ignored the slight pain in her hand as she used it to reach down and grab her handbag, tossing it over her shoulder once her coat was on. The Doctor had glued her hand and then covered the cut with a bandage, the best he could do. He'd also had to check her leg wounds. Luckily, they were all superficial cuts, the bleeding having stopped after having pressure put on them for a few minutes. The only thing she wasn't looking forward to was the inevitable bruises which would be making an appearance in the following days.

"You going?" Rose's hands slipped into her dress pockets.

Clara's lips were pushed together. "Oh yes." she answered.

While Clara said her goodbyes to James and Rose who were also considering leaving, the Doctor made his way over to Jack. He too said his goodbye to his friend and retrieved his elder daughter. She wasn't happy to leave Jack and Jenny but she understood it was home time.

"See you 'round, Doctor." Jack shook his hand, the action making a certain woman in pink notice.

"John?" she was frowning softly.

The Doctor's look was dark as he turned to face her fully. He would have yelled there and then but it would have only delayed their departure. Clara wouldn't have appreciated that.

"Mum." his tone was harsh to which she continued frowning, "You… You remember my wife, Clara, right?"

His smirk was dangerous as he directed his mother's attention to Clara stood near to the booth still.

Leanne's eyes went wide, the action making the Doctor have to work harder to contain his rising anger. It was even worse than the year before. Last year she'd only hurt Clara emotionally. This year she'd indirectly hurt her physically. He wasn't going to forgive that so readily.

"Doesn't she look pretty good for someone who'd already left an hour ago?"

Leanne turned to face her son. "John, I can explain…"

"Don't!" he cut her off, "I found her in the cupboard, Leanne. _Locked _in the cupboard… _Bleeding _in the cupboard."

Leanne's eyes did widen further, her cheeks draining.

"Bleeding?" she repeated, "I only locked her in. I-I didn't hurt her."

The Doctor quirked his eyebrows up. She'd actually just admitted it.

"No, your shelves collapsed." he explained, "You are lucky the worst she got was a cut hand… I swear if anything else had happened, Leanne…"

Leanne remained silent. He just scoffed. "I cannot believe you did this."

He turned and walked towards his awaiting wife.

"John…"

"NO!" the sharpness of his voice when he turned back made her stop, as well as making nearly everybody else look around. He just sighed abruptly to calm himself down. "_No._" he repeated, "Enough."

And that was that. They left.

* * *

Christmas since that year had never been as bad, mostly because the Doctor had ensured no further Christmas consisted of both his wife and mother being in the same place. Leanne hadn't been happy, she'd accused Clara of ruining Christmas for her forever. However, Clara no longer cared. Anything was better than spending another Christmas with Leanne and having it ruining one way or another.

The following Christmas, Milly's fourth Christmas, hadn't been anything special. The Doctor's old friends, Amy and Rory had popped around for a couple of hours in the morning which had been a treat. However, for the rest of the day was far from good. After a particularly bad coach crash, the Doctor had been called into work, something Clara didn't mind if she was honest. Granted she hadn't wanted him to go but she knew the patients needed him more than she did. All she had to worry about was making sure the dinner was cooked for herself and the girls and that the Doctor had one made up and saved so he could enjoy later yet there were people in the hospital fighting for their lives.

However, Milly's fifth Christmas made up for it. She sharing the day with two year old, Charley, and her six month old baby brother, Jack. It was actually the first Christmas they'd had alone as a family, nobody else but the five living under the same roof. _Bliss. _

Like every Christmas, Santa had miraculously visited without waking anyone. He'd even managed to put a fast-asleep Milly to bed after her pledge to stay up all night and see him had fallen flat on the face, literally.

It was actually Clara and the Doctor who were awake first, both grinning wildly up at their ceiling and making bets with one another as to who would be awake first. Clara had her money on baby Jack as he typically woke up at five o'clock for his feed. However, the Doctor was thinking differently.

"Merry." he whispered to his wife cuddled up at his side, "She's desperate for her Colour-Me-In Kittens."

Through the lightly lit room thanks to the flashing lights the Doctor had insisted on plastering their bedroom window with, he saw her gasp at him.

"Doctor!" her smirk was evident even in the dark, "Have you been peeking in Milly's sack?"

"No…" he drew out, leaning closer to her ear, "Don't tell the kids… I'm on first name basis with Santa Claus. I call him Nick."

Clara giggled into his neck, her ears pricking when she heard Jack move on the baby monitor behind her. _He was still asleep. _

She looked over at the clock on the Doctor's bedside table. 4:43am. She was the one getting desperate now. Even if it did make it a long day by being up so early, she didn't care. It was Christmas. Christmas was her thing, especially when Leanne didn't come into the picture!

"Never known you to be so eager, Mrs Smith." he commented as she pushed herself up on her arms.

Her eyebrow quirked up as she looked down at him, her hair curtaining her face.

"Never?" she wondered, her head dropping lower.

He smirked, grabbing her hips and flipping them around. She gasped quietly as he straddled her, giggling under her breath.

"Doctor…" she moaned, his breath tickling her neck as he lowered himself to her face.

His lips were soft against hers but rough enough to show his passion, his love for her. She made him feel like he was the only man in the world when they kissed.

They parted, his nose nuzzling softly against hers.

"Merry Christmas, darling." he sighed.

"Merry Christmas." she whispered back.

The Doctor fell to her side lay there for a few moments, rubbing her shoulder and listening out for any movement.

_Still nothing. _

He rolled his eyes. Honestly, when he, James and Chris were younger, they were itching to get up Christmas morning from at least 4am. The only reason they didn't do so at that time was because Leanne had a strict rule: get up no earlier than 7 o'clock or presents didn't get given out until the evening.

He shuddered at the thought. He remembered the one year he and James had dared to test it. He was five and regretted it the moment he got caught rummaging under the tree. He still couldn't remember what he did get when he eventually open up the presents at six o'clock that night.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Clara offered, her smile soft in the light.

He shook his head. "Just… Christmas." his eyes lit up, "Its Christmas, Clara."

Clara over exaggerated the way she looked around. "Is it?" she asked, her tone sounding vaguely like James' for a moment.

The Doctor sighed, turning on his side to face her properly.

"Do you remember our _very first _Christmas together?" he whispered.

Clara found herself grinning madly, softly nodding.

"We were 12. You were on my doorstep in nothing but your dressing gown and slippers clutching a little gold present." Clara laughed at the memory as she rolled onto her back, "Leanne was screaming across the whole street at you to come home."

"And I did." the Doctor objected playfully.

"Yeah, to change into _sensible clothes._" she recalled, "Then you were straight back over with presents for my Mum and Dad." she sighed, "Leanne was mortified when you told her that Christmas was better in our house than yours."

The Doctor laughed softly. "It was!" he objected, "You had fun. You didn't open your presents and then that was that. You actually spent time together, as a family… and I was honoured you let me be a part of that."

Clara kissed his shoulder. "I was honoured you agreed to be a part of it…"

"HE'S BEEN! HE'S BEEN!"

Both the Doctor and Clara shot up as their bedroom door almost flew off its hinges, their eldest daughter bursting through and diving onto the bed. Clara did gasp but it was soon taken over by her laughter as the three of them fall back.

The Doctor's eyes were wide as he looked up at the little dark haired girl almost sitting on his chest.

"Who has?!" he was almost as excitable as she was, "Who's been?!"

"Santa!" she squealed in excitement.

The Doctor's mouth dropped, his eyes wide in amazement as he pulled Milly into his chest for a big Christmas kiss and cuddle.

"Merry Christmas, Merry." he smiled as she pushed herself up against his chest.

"Merry Christmas, Daddy!"

She then pounced at Clara, exchanging the same greeting before hopping off the bed and out of the room back towards her and Charley's bedroom.

"Charley!" she cried, "Santa's been!"

The Doctor and Clara both pulled themselves up and watched the empty doorway for a minute, sighing as they heard Charley beginning to mutter something. _She was awake. _

"I win." the Doctor simply said, earning a soft shove from his wife. However, it was enough to make him fall back against the mattress.

Just as he pulled himself up, the famous gurgles from their son began to resonate from the baby monitor. Clara laughed to herself and looked towards the clock. _5 o'clock._

"Least he's on time." she smiled, swinging her legs off the bed almost in sync which her husband.

"I'll go get Charley." the Doctor smiled as he stood up and went over to switch their bedroom light on.

Clara simply nodded before standing herself up. It was going to be a long day.

. . . . .

All the presents from Santa were opened in the Doctor and Clara's bedroom and with nowhere to put the paper, it ended up dotted around the entire room, almost as if a large ball of paper had exploded and snowed down on them all.

Milly had got her Colour-Me-In Kittens as well as a large selection of cuddly toys, games and sweets and was now helping her little sister open her first present.

Clara, who was feeding Jack in her lap, gasped as Charley finally got the first present open.

"What ya got there, Charley?" she smiled down at the awestruck little girl, "What is it?"

"Doggy." she pointed at the toy dog in the box.

The Doctor's smile was beaming as he had just got his first Christmas present of the day, video footage of Charley opening her first Christmas present.

"And who got you the dog, Charley?" he smiled encouragingly down at the blonde haired little girl, one who looked oddly like her Aunty Rose.

"Santa!" she smiled.

Milly showed her little sister how to feel the toy through the gap in the box, grinning as she saw her copy. It made her feel happy that she had helped her sister, especially at Christmas. She had heard her Mum saying helping someone at Christmas always gave you a good feeling in your heart, and she was right. _She always was._

"What's its name, Charley? What you gonna call it?"

Charley, completely fascinated by the softness of the dog, didn't even look up at her sister.

"Doggy." she repeated, ultimately answering the question.

The Doctor shrugged his shoulders, the action making Clara smile as Jack finished his bottle.

"Fair enough." he agreed.

. . . . .

Neither Milly nor Charley wanted to go to bed that night and as it was Christmas, they weren't made to. However, within half an hour of their normal bedtimes, they both were asleep. Charley went first and within minutes, Milly was too. They were both shattered.

Clara carried Charley upstairs and placed her gently in her big-girl bed, softly humming as she stirred briefly. By the time the Doctor joined her in the room with Milly in his arms, Charley was again asleep. She slowly stood, lifting Charley's bed guard and securing it as the Doctor tucked his eldest daughter into her quilt.

They both left the room and the Doctor softly shut the door. Within seconds of that, he found his free hand brushing Clara's tired face, his hand settling in a position which allowed him to gently stroke her cheek.

"Good day?" he wondered softly.

She smiled in response. "The best." he responded tiredly, leaning into his touch. She then glanced at her watch. "You got his bottle?"

The Doctor brought up his other hand which contained the blue Tommee Tippee bottle.

"I'll feed him when he wakes up." he promised, "You go to bed."

Clara actually frowned. "No, don't be ridiculous, Chin Boy." she shook her head, "I'll stay up with ya."

The Doctor frowned, the smile never leaving his lips. "Why?"

"It's Christmas, you moron." she sighed, "_Jack's first Christmas._ Let's end the day with him together."

And that's exactly what they did.

They finished Milly's fifth Christmas, Charley's third Christmas and Jack's first Christmas on a high, already excited for the one only a year away. After all, in the Smith Household, Christmas was certainly the most wonderful time of the year.


End file.
